Halle (dpa/sa) - The city of Halle wants to offer accommodation options - so-called heat islands - in the event of local gas shortages in the coming winter. There should be a total of 22 of these heat islands with a total capacity for 17,500 people, said Mayor Egbert Geier (SPD) on Thursday when the plans were presented. People could "temporarily" take help there. The exact design and the specific locations of the accommodation options have not yet been finally clarified.
There could be local gas shortages that cannot be influenced by "switching operations" but are of a physical nature, said the managing director of Stadtwerke Halle, Matthias Lux. For example, if the volume and pressure in the gas network are insufficient. The heat islands are intended for such a case. In the run-up, attention was drawn to a corresponding case via loudspeakers. According to the mayor, how long people can stay in the accommodation facilities and how they are cared for there is still in the vote.
In the event of a widespread gas shortage, the network agency, as the federal load distributor, can issue instructions to reduce gas consumption after the emergency level of the gas emergency plan has been declared. Their job is to "secure the vital need for gas". The instructions must be designed in such a way that the social, ecological and economic damage remains as low as possible.
The gas emergency plan provides for a distinction between protected and non-protected gas customers. The protected customers include household customers, kindergartens, schools, universities, hospitals, retirement homes and medical practices, the police and fire brigades, the German armed forces, electricity and water suppliers, waste disposal, but also many small and medium-sized companies in the areas of trade, commerce and services . They would prefer to be supplied with gas. For non-protected customers such as industrial companies, the supply could be reduced or stopped altogether.
