GERMAN breweries have been told to stop producing beer over fears that Oktoberfest will be canceled after Russia bans gas supplies.
Hanover is the first major European city to be affected by Putin’s decision and has announced that heating in public buildings and swimming pools will be turned off.
1
Meanwhile, Berlin has started turning off floodlights that illuminate its historic monuments and the city of Augsburg has decided to shut down public fountains.
Other cities are expected to join the energy-saving efforts, while the gas shortage threatens other areas of German life, including the famous Oktoberfest which is slated to return after two years of pandemic.
Rosi Steinberger, a member of Bavaria’s regional parliament, confirmed to the New York Times that Oktoberfest celebrations can be scrapped — and the same goes for Christmas markets.
And non-essential industries, such as Bavaria’s breweries, could be forced to close in an effort to conserve energy amid skyrocketing gas prices.
Germans have been warned of an imminent “gas surcharge” on top of their already high energy bills to prevent suppliers from going bankrupt.
Robert Habeck, the economics minister, said: “We can’t say yet how much gas will cost in November, but the bitter news is that it is certainly a few hundred euros per household.”
The new levy will come into effect in October and will last at least until March 2024.
But Germany is not the only European country taking measures to save energy, as Belgium has reversed its nuclear phase-out while the Netherlands and Austria are switching to coal-fired power stations.
The energy crisis was fueled earlier this week when the Russian energy giant Gazprom stocks strangled by 20 percent.
Hanover mayor Belit Onay said the “imminent gas shortage” meant cutting energy consumption in Lower Saxony’s capital by 15 percent.
Before the war in Ukraine, Germany bought 55 percent of its natural gas from Russia.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has launched a national action to save energy, with the EU this week agreeing to cut Russian gas consumption across the bloc.
Turning off the air conditioning, promoting public transport and even pushing for more efficient shower heads are part of the drastic effort to reduce energy consumption in Germany.
Officials have warned that the Kremlin could cut supplies this winter in furious retaliation for the crippling Western sanctions on Moscow for the war.