Germans Urged to Save Gas by Cutting Back On Hot Showers

By Staff, Agencies

Germans have been advised to think twice about having a hot shower if the authorities decide to place an embargo on Russian natural gas amid Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine.

“You will have to ask yourselves a question, whether you really need to take a hot shower seven days a week – with gas heating,” the head of the Federal Network Agency of Germany, Klaus Mueller, said in an interview with n-tv.

His words echoed a similar statement earlier by European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager, who advised EU residents to “control your own and your teenager’s showers, and when you turn off that water, say, ‘take that, Putin.’”

According to Mueller, if Germany cuts supplies from Russia, gas reserves in the country will last until the end of summer or early autumn at the latest.

“But then the storage facilities will be empty. And we would not like to have such a situation before winter,” the official said.

Amid mounting pressure on the EU to add Russian energy carriers to its already formidable list of Ukraine-related sanctions, Germany last month triggered an emergency plan to manage gas supplies which could result in energy rationing and prioritizing households and critical infrastructure, such as hospitals, medicine, and food producers.

In an interview with Die Zeit earlier this week, Mueller also warned citizens not to take this plan for granted and start cutting back on household luxuries.