What did the cabinet decide on Wednesday?

Julia Loehr

Business correspondent in Berlin.

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Robert Habeck's (Greens) Ministry of Economic Affairs has drawn up two ordinances intended to reduce energy consumption in Germany - primarily gas consumption, but also electricity consumption.

The ordinance for securing the energy supply through short-term effective measures, EnSikuMaV for short, is to come into force on September 1st and run until the end of February 2023.

The medium-term EnSimiMaV is to apply for two years from October 1st.

What will change at the beginning of September?

The core elements of the short-term ordinance are: Common areas such as corridors or halls should no longer be heated in public buildings.

There are exceptions for hospitals, schools and day-care centers.

Work rooms in public buildings may be heated to a maximum of 19 degrees.

Something is also set to change for private companies: the minimum temperature for activities while sitting will be reduced from 20 to 19 degrees, and lower values ​​are planned for physically demanding activities.

Retailers should not leave the doors of heated shops open permanently.

In addition to heating energy, electricity should also be saved: buildings and monuments may no longer be illuminated from the outside, advertising boards must remain dark from 10 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Shop windows are not affected.

Tenants have the right

to heat their homes less than provided for in the lease.

Pools in private buildings may no longer be heated with electricity or gas.

In addition, owners of buildings with at least ten residential units must inform their tenants about energy consumption, cost increases and potential savings.

What else is coming in October?

Owners of buildings with gas heating must have the heating checked within two years.

The so-called hydraulic balancing of the system is mandatory, the costs for which must be borne by the owners.

Companies with an energy consumption of 10 gigawatt hours or more per year must prove that they are becoming more efficient, for example by switching from lamps to LEDs.

Who should control that?

The two ordinances do not state how the regulations are to be controlled.

As with the Corona regulations, the traffic light coalition trusts that the majority of citizens and companies will comply with the guidelines.

There shouldn't be a pool police, Habeck said at the end of July when he presented the measures for the first time.

An economist pleaded on Twitter for controls on the ban on heating pools, arguing that citizens should also let chimney sweeps into their homes.

But that was controversial.

What's the point?

Habeck and Network Agency President Klaus Müller believe it is necessary for energy consumption to be reduced by at least 15 percent, better: by 20 percent, so that there are no gas bottlenecks.

It will not be possible to achieve this with the two regulations.

There is talk of a savings potential of around 2 percent.

As a rule of thumb: If the room temperature is reduced by one degree Celsius, this saves around 6 percent of energy.

It is estimated that the energy costs of private households, companies and the public sector will fall by 10.8 billion euros over the two years as a result of the two regulations.

This would be offset by costs for the citizens of almost 10 million euros and 1.3 million hours of time.

For the economy, the investment costs are estimated at 5.5 billion euros and 18.2 million hours of work.

Are indoor pools also affected?

The ban on heating pools only applies to private residential buildings.

In hotels and public indoor pools, the pools may continue to be heated.

However, many operators have already throttled the temperatures to reduce energy costs.

Saunas have also been closed in many places.

Will the gas crisis be followed by the mold crisis?

Housing companies fear that. Tenants should not overdo it when saving heating energy, the Haus & Grund owners' association recently warned.

At temperatures below 16 degrees, the risk of mold growth increases.

The ordinance states: "The increased risk of mold formation when the temperature drops is to be compensated for by careful and increased ventilation."

Who is going to replace all the heaters?

The government has not yet found a solution to the shortage of craftsmen that has existed for years.

The number of people employed in heating and sanitation has shrunk by 9.4 percent within ten years to 275,000. The industry believes that 60,000 additional fitters are needed for Habeck's heat pump offensive alone.

The Economics Ministry is considering reducing the training times for certain tasks, such as installing a heat pump.

More immigration could also alleviate the shortage of skilled workers in the trades.

For the time being, however, the motto is: wait.

Customers currently have to wait an average of 12 weeks if it is not an emergency.