German city becomes first in Europe to ban hot water and central heating

The German city of Hanover has banned the use of central heating and hot water in all public buildings.

The German city of Hanover has today, Thursday, July 28, announced a ban on the use of central heating and hot water in all public buildings. The city becomes the first in Europe to implement such restrictions as a result of Vladimir Putin and Russia weaponising the supply of gas, according to dailymail.co.uk.

Belit Onay, the mayor of the Lower Saxony city has also stopped the use of hot water in swimming pools, gyms, and sports centres. Onay spoke about an ‘imminent gas shortage’, with other measures including turning off all the outdoor lighting on major public buildings at night, such as museums and town halls. Public fountains will also be switched off.

These measures could well become an annual occurrence between April and September following a controversial demand from the EU in Brussels on Tuesday, July 26, for member states to reduce their consumption of gas by 15 per cent. With some exceptions, thermostats in public buildings will also be set at just 20C (68F).

Residents of Hanover have been warned that they should expect drastic measures aimed at rationing gas, accompanied by soaring electricity bills. Portable air conditioners, radiators, and heaters are also prohibited.

While Europe basks in extreme heat right now, the coming of winter will have a very different effect on the way people use heating resources to stay warm at home. The whole situation has become worse since Russian state energy giant Gazprom started cutting the flow of gas through its Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

In June, they cut the supply to 40 per cent of its normal capacity. Maintenance work was used as an excuse to initiate this decrease in supply. Russia has denied any political reasons for the disruption, but only this week, the supply has been reduced to just 20 per cent.

European states have been busy trying to stock up on their gas supplies before winter arrives. Germany is one of the countries historically most reliant on this supply of gas. Since the start of the Ukrainian conflict Germany has reportedly managed to reduce its dependence on Russian gas from 50 per cent to around 25 per cent.

Robert Habeck, Germany’s Economy Minister commented: “We can’t say yet how much gas will cost in November, but the bitter news is it’s definitely a few hundred euros per household”. A figure that many of the country’s analysts think is slightly optimistic apparently.

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