German President Steinmeier's residence no longer to be lit by lanterns at night: Report

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's official residence, 'Bellevue Palace' will reportedly not be lit by lanterns at night in order to save electricity. The representative of Steinmeier's office said that the Presidential house will only be illuminated at night during the visits of foreign officials, EuroIntegration reported citing the DPA news agency. Notably, the German President's house has been partially receiving electricity from hydroelectric power plants and solar panels.

The German government is planning to increase the renewable energy in the Presidential residence during the renovation. The German administration is planning to move from a heating system to geothermal energy. According to the representative of the German President's office, Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been using limousines with hybrid engines, as per the EuroIntegration report. Furthermore, the representative of Steinmeier's office said that the employees have four bicycles for use and the number is planned to rise over time.

Earlier on 21 July, Germany announced an energy security package to reduce the use of gas. The plan announced by the German government includes gas saving measures for firms and stricter regulations regarding the storage of gas in tanks. 

German Vice Chancellor announces measures to reduce gas consumption 

German Vice Chancellor, Robert Habeck, said that they require "staying power" as the winter season is yet to arrive. He stressed that "second winter" will pose challenges for Germany and Europe and added that they were analyzing all the scenarios. Germany is planning to introduce measures, like increasing gas storage targets by 5%, Euractiv reported. In addition, Berlin is intending to reopen the lignite-fuelled power plants and reduction in consumption of gas in public buildings and gas saving rules for firms. Habeck said that he intends to introduce new rules regarding the filling levels of gas in storage facilities. 

According to Habeck, the storage facilities should be filled with at least 75% in September and the minimum filling level must be increased from 80% to 85% in October and further from 90% to 95% in November, as per the Euractiv report. Habeck stressed that Russia is becoming an "uncertainty factor" in the energy system and they cannot depend on Russian supplies. Notably, Russian energy giant Gazprom in June reduced the gas supplies through Nord Stream 1 pipeline citing a technical issue over equipment which Siemens could not send to Russia due to sanctions imposed by Canada. However, Canada has now allowed Siemens to return the repaired equipment to Germany.

Image: AP