Even with very small measures, Upper Austria’s consumers should help to save gas and fill the storage tanks faster for the winter. That means more LEDs instead of old light bulbs and turning off the standby switch when you go out of the house or sleep.
“Not everyone is aware that saving electricity also means saving gas,” says Economics Minister Markus Achleitner (ÖVP), who is also responsible for energy. Because a third of the gas consumption flows into the generation of electricity and district heating.
If energy is used stingily in the summer, more gas can be stored for the winter. How does saving electricity pay off, because the gas crisis is not over after six months. “Putin is using the gas supplies as leverage to split the EU and drive up prices,” Achleitner said.
Since the cold shower of throttling had come after the first hurrah about the Russian gas flowing again after the maintenance, Achleitner rounded up the state energy control advisory board and brought in the head of the energy regulator E-Control, Wolfgang Urbantschitsch. Both tried to call for energy saving, but not to spread unnecessary panic.
Because the storage facilities of OMV and RAG are not badly filled. 48 terawatt hours of gas are currently stored there, which corresponds to a good half of Austria’s gas consumption of 95 terawatt hours per year. A terawatt hour looks “cute” but it is equivalent to a billion kilowatt hours of energy. An average washing machine uses 200 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. Since energy-saving devices already manage with 135 kilowatt hours, Achleitner also advocates the purchase of energy-efficient e-devices as a further saving mite.
In order to do justice to the biomass hype, Achleitner announced yesterday that it would continue to provide state funding for it in 2023. The appeal went to commercial companies for more thermal insulation and also the use of waste heat potential.
Tips: In this series of pictures we will show you where and how you can save energy in everyday life.
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On the other hand, Achleitner sees the food trade with its frosty temperatures in some supermarkets almost off the hook: They have already done their homework with photovoltaics, for example.
E-Control boss Urbantschitsch emphasized once again that it is possible to get through the winter with savings.
Source: Nachrichten
