Berlin’s Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) Photo: picture alliance/dpa
From BZ/dpa
Berlin’s Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) has confirmed that the Senate wants to support citizens in coping with the sharp rise in energy prices.
The aim is to talk about how the state can help people in a targeted manner in addition to relief measures by the federal government, said the SPD politician on Wednesday on RBB Inforadio.
Details have not yet been determined. “It will definitely be a hardship case regulation, not a watering can principle,” says Giffey. The country has to wait a bit longer to see what the federal government is doing exactly. Then you can see what the country next door can do for people who are in need. “At the moment I see pensioners and low-income earners in particular as groups that we pay special attention to.”
In the Berlin budget, 380 million euros have been planned as part of a crisis fund to cushion high energy prices. However, the sum could still be increased. “We will now determine the exact implementation of this crisis fund very promptly,” said Giffey. The Senate Department for Finance is developing a concept for this. The fund is not only about cushioning additional costs for citizens, but also for the public sector. The country has a large number of buildings.
Against this background, the Senate passed a program to save energy in public areas on Tuesday. The following now applies there: Room temperatures are lowered, lights are switched off, warm water is turned off. The aim is to reduce energy consumption by at least ten percent.