Vienna, a city known for its Christmas markets and its New Year concert, is cutting back on public lighting in the face of soaring energy prices.

"There will be no Christmas illuminations this year on the Ring," the famous boulevard that encircles the centre of the Austrian capital, city spokeswoman Roberta Kraft told AFP.

And the lights at the Christmas market in the square in front of the city hall would only be switched on at night and not at dusk, as in previous years, "which is to say about an hour later, on average, every day", she said.

The city authorities said they had not calculated exactly how much they would save, but the move comes after energy prices have skyrocketed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its response to Western sanctions.

Last Friday, the Austrian Energy Agency announced that its electricity price index for September rose by more than 256 percent year-on-year. 

Austria, with its population of nine million, is very dependent on tourism and its end-of-year celebrations are a major motor of the economy.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down much international travel, more than four million people visited Vienna's famous Christmas markets in 2019.

In 2021, around 30 of Vienna's shopping streets were lit up for seven hours a day, from November 12 until early January.

 Spain's air conditioning curbs come into force                                          

New Spanish energy-saving rules that limit air-conditioning use in public spaces came into force Wednesday despite soaring temperatures as part of an EU-wide effort to reduce reliance on Russian energy.

Under the government decree, air conditioning must be turned down and set at no lower than 27 degrees Celsius during the warmest months of the year in rules affecting everything from public transport to shops, offices, theatres and cinemas.

During the summer months, temperatures across Spain often hit 40C or higher. 

The legislation also affects heating in winter, when temperatures can be set no higher than 19C.

"The plan's aim is to save gas for the winter in case (Russian President Vladimir) Putin decides to cut off gas supplies to Europe as a result of sanctions... which could make this winter very difficult," Joan Groizard, head of the Energy Savings and Diversification Institute at Spain's ecology ministry, told public television.

Adopted last week, the legislation also requires that from 10:00 pm, shops switch off window-display lighting in a move also affecting the illumination of public buildings. 

By the end of September, any air-conditioned or heated premises must have an automatic door-closing mechanism installed to avoid energy waste.

However, the law does not lay out any specific penalties and has left the task of monitoring compliance to Spain's 17 regions, some of which have been highly critical of the move, notably those run by the right-wing opposition People's Party. 

Among the most critical has been Madrid's regional leader Isabel Diaz Ayuso, who has vowed to take the measure to Spain's Constitutional Court. 

The government unveiled details of the plan in May as part of an EU-wide effort to cut dependence on Russia for oil and gas following its February invasion of Ukraine. 

The European Commission is planning to cut EU dependency on Russian gas by two-thirds this year and end its reliance on Russian supplies of the fuel before 2030.

An EU-wide plan to cut gas consumption came into effect on Tuesday with the aim of member states cutting back by "at least 15 percent" between August and March 2023 based on their average use over the past five years.

Given the unique position of Spain and Portugal and their limited connection with the European energy market, Brussels has allowed both countries to adopt a reduced target of 7.0 percent. 

The overriding aim is to bolster gas reserves in time for what is likely to be a very tough winter, with European households and businesses already squeezed by skyrocketing energy prices.

 

                

 

                

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.