The Energy Saving Ordinance will come into force in September. From then on, shops will have to switch off their lights and close the doors and windows as often as possible. The industry, which has been shaken by the corona lockdowns, is campaigning for understanding with posters. At the same time, however, it also warns of dark inner cities.
Saving energy is the order of the day in order to get through the winter without Russian gas. The retail trade must also participate in this. A regulation of the federal government stipulates that from September 1st, the doors of shops should no longer be permanently open. In addition, shop windows should no longer be illuminated between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
However, retailers fear that the shopping experience will be spoiled by the energy saving measures. Apart from the fact that money isn't so easy for many people anyway, there could also be a lack of customers. The important Christmas business could also suffer. Therefore, the dealers now want to campaign for understanding with a poster campaign.
The NRW trade association has presented a number of motifs that shops should use to explain the measures to their customers. "Door closed, shop open" says one of the motifs, which are intended to ensure that customers can find their way into the shop despite the closed front door.
"It's pretty dark here? We save energy and turn off the lights in the evening," says another poster that shops can hang in their shop windows. Stefan Genth, General Manager of the German Retail Association, says about the campaign: "In this phase, which is also difficult for society as a whole, the industry wants to make its contribution to saving energy and is therefore launching a poster campaign for retailers."
At the same time, the HDE boss is also trying to defend himself against overly rigid specifications and warns of dark inner cities. "With the shop window lighting, we also ensure safety and social responsibility in the cities, especially in the less frequented time slots at night," Genth told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck announced the Energy Saving Ordinance in mid-August, and it was passed by the Federal Cabinet on Wednesday. The measures also provide for lower temperatures in homes and workplaces. Public buildings should also be heated less and the lighting switched off. Even private swimming pools may no longer be heated.
The measures should apply until the end of February 2023. They are in the context of the EU gas contingency plan. This stipulates that the member countries will save 15 percent on gas between August and March compared to the average for the past five years. Gas heavy consumer Germany has even set itself the goal of saving 20 percent.
The article first appeared on stern.de and was updated on August 26, 2022.
