In Berlin, some shopping centers have decided to turn off the escalators at certain hours in order to save electricity, the price of which has risen sharply.
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Such measures are already being resorted to in Saturn stores (they sell electronics, together with Media Markt the company forms the Media-Saturn holding), ECE (a chain of shopping centers) and Galeria Karstadt (a chain of department stores).
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Director of the company that runs these department stores, Miguel Mühlenbach, told the newspaper that the shutdowns are being implemented in a way that does not affect the comfort of customers. In ECE, escalators are switched off in the morning and in the evening. According to Bild, IKEA stores are also considering switching off and implementing other energy saving measures.
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As of August 25, the price per MW of electricity is €748.4, while in April last year it was at the level of €50, in October – €160. In December 2021, there was also a sharp rise in the price to €315, but then it returned to its previous values. Nevertheless, during the current year, a stable increase in prices was mainly recorded.
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The rise in electricity prices in Europe is associated, firstly, with the rise in prices for gas, which is used at power generating enterprises (the day before, on August 26, prices increased to $3,500 per 1 cubic meter of gas, approaching a record of $3,800, which was in March ). Secondly, hot weather had an effect, due to which reservoirs began to dry up and energy production at hydroelectric power plants decreased.
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Against this background, the energy ministers of the EU member states intend to hold an emergency meeting to discuss measures to resolve the situation in the energy sector. Until a solution is found at the level of European authorities, some countries resort to their own methods. In Switzerland, they allowed the shutdown of lifts at ski resorts. In Britain, they want to encourage citizens to turn off energy-intensive electrical appliances during peak hours. Rolling blackouts were not ruled out in Finland.
