The energy-saving tips are to be conveyed up to and including March by means of an advertising campaign. The government is also considering binding measures.Vienna. It’s “little things, individual changes in behavior that make a difference overall,” said the minister.
The government recommends about that to lower the room temperature, to seal windows, to defrost the freezer or the Energy saving programs for the washing machine and dishwasher to use. These are tips that can be implemented immediately. In addition, the expansion of renewable energies and the conversion of industry to sustainable production processes are necessary
“Situation is serious”
“The situation is serious,” said Labor Minister Martin Kocher (ÖVP). The high energy prices, especially the high price of gas, would put an enormous strain on households and companies. In addition to the measures taken by the government to cushion inflation, everything must now be done to use energy sparingly. “Every percentage point in electricity consumption that we save naturally helps to reduce the need for gas-fired power plants,” said the minister. The energy saving campaign is therefore trying to raise awareness that “everyone can really make a difference with their behavior”.
Video: Analysis by Fritz Dittlbacher (ORF)
In the past few decades, the efficient use of energy has tended to take a back seat because prices were relatively low and there was supposedly enough energy, said Barbara Schmidt, Secretary General of Österreichs Energie, the lobby of the Austrian e-business. A large part of Austrian electricity comes from renewable sources, but part of the consumption is also covered by gas-fired power plants, especially in winter. It is therefore necessary to reduce the demand for energy, especially for electricity. “The measures may sound a bit banal, you know a lot, but whether you really implement them in everyday life is another question,” said Schmidt.
Investigation by the Austrian Energy Agency
The energy saving campaign is based on a study by the Austrian Energy Agency. This has been dealing with “energy saving for 40 years, 39.5 years of which nobody was interested in,” said Managing Director Franz Angerer. A lot has changed in the last half year. On behalf of the government, the Energy Agency has estimated how much energy can be saved in the private sector in the short term. To do this, various model households were looked at and various savings opportunities evaluated. According to this, a total of 11 percent of current energy consumption could be saved with the recommended measures in the areas of electricity, heat, mobility and hot water.
Video of the press conference:
In addition to the energy saving campaign, the government is also working on medium- and long-term measures to save energy, including the Energy Efficiency Act. A package of binding measures is currently being worked out in the Ministry of Climate Change, but this will then have to be discussed in the coalition. However, Gewessler and Kocher did not provide any specific information here. There are also certain limits at national level, which is why the energy minister expects specifications at EU level.
Among other things, a ban on heating sponges in the catering trade is being examined, Gewessler said on Saturday. Rejection for this came from the gastro division chairman in the Chamber of Commerce. Mario Pulker complained via “Kurier” (Monday edition) that the restaurateurs had already been “forced a smoking ban on their eyes” – and the heating sponges had been purchased as an expensive alternative. In relation to Corona, the risk of infection outdoors is also lower than in the bars. In general, it should be up to the landlords whether they use such heaters or not. “We don’t turn them on unnecessarily anyway, because the operation isn’t cheap either,” said the WKÖ representative.
Source: Nachrichten
