Magdeburg (dpa/sa) - Saxony-Anhalt's cities and municipalities are calling for a protective shield to ensure municipal security of supply. In a letter to Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) published on Tuesday, it said that the protective shield could include default guarantees and loan safeguards by the investment bank for municipal companies in the energy and housing industries. Overall, it would be about ensuring the ability of the municipal utilities to act. Without their structures, local services of general interest could not be maintained.
The municipalities fear that the energy and housing companies will find themselves in financial distress due to rent arrears or the failure to pay operating costs, which could result in major liquidity problems. Recently, gas prices have risen massively, and consumers are threatened with high additional payments. In Germany, there is also great concern that Russia will not turn on the gas tap again on the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline after planned maintenance, which is currently underway.
In the letter, the cities and municipalities also criticize "the state government's previous speechlessness" on securing the energy supply. "Anyone who calls for concerted action must not present the municipalities with a fait accompli, but must actively involve them," the letter says. "The mantra-like focus on the necessary expansion of renewable energies will not solve the current problems." In order to prevent corporate and consumer bankruptcies, the municipalities are calling for a short-time work solution that is as far-reaching as in the corona pandemic.
