«Germany’s social peace is in great danger». Unfortunately, as tensions over Russia’s war in Ukraine escalate, officials fear the situation could get worse. On Monday, as we reported last week, Russia is shutting down its main pipeline to Germany, Nord Stream 1, for 10 days of scheduled maintenance. Many in Berlin fear it will never reopen.

«The situation on the gas market is tense and unfortunately we can’t guarantee that it will not get worse,» he said on Tuesday. «We have to be prepared for the situation to become critical». It said the measure would save 8 per cent in heating costs. A housing association in the Saxon town of Dippoldiswalde, near the Czech border, went a step further this week, saying it was rationing the supply of hot water to tenants.

Helmut Dedy, head of the German Association of Towns and Cities, said the «whole of society» must now cut down on its energy consumption, saving in summer «so we have warm flats in winter». «Every kilowatt-hour we save helps to fill the gas storage a bit more,» he said as he appealed to town councils up and down the country to take emergency action. The district of Lahn-Dill, near Frankfurt, is switching off the hot water in its 86 schools and 60 gyms from mid-September, a move it hopes will save it €100,000 in energy costs, and Düsseldorf has temporarily closed a massive swimming pool complex, the Münster-Therme. Meanwhile, Berlin has turned down the thermostat on open-air swimming pools, reducing their temperature by 2 degrees.

In western Germany, Cologne is dimming its street lighting to 70 per cent of full strength from 11pm. Residential customers are also taking action, reactivating wood-burning stoves and fireplaces. The GdW said the Ukraine war will push up energy prices for consumers by between 71 per cent and 200 per cent, amounting to additional annual costs of between €1,000 and €2,700 for a one-person household and up to €3,800 for four people, compared with 2021 levels. Costs could increase even more as a result of a new law working its way through the German parliament.

This would allow the government to impose an emergency levy on all gas consumers to spread the cost of higher prices more evenly. A study by the Hertie School in Berlin said industrial gas consumption fell 11 per cent in March and April this year, compared with the same period in 2021, and by 6 per cent in private households. In his appeal to Germany’s municipalities this week, Dedy made a similar point. «The situation is very serious,» he said.

Let’s just hope that by exiting the «comfort zone» Germany does not enter the «war zone» – it’s traditionally not a happy ending for Europe when that happens….

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Source: TYLER DURDEN | ZEROHEDGE.COM