The rising energy prices not only affect private households, local authorities also have to see how they can cover the costs in the coming winter – especially if they are not particularly blessed financially anyway. In Kirchseeon, people are therefore already preparing for icy times: “It won’t happen without it,” said Mayor Jan Paeplow (CSU) at the most recent municipal council meeting. Measures must therefore be discussed as to how the market can reduce its energy consumption as much as possible. No final decisions have been made yet, but there are already indications that the savings will primarily affect municipal properties such as daycare centers and schools. And even the operation of the local indoor pool is up for debate.
“We need to think about how to proceed with this,” Paeplow said of the recreational facility, which is also popular with visitors from outside the market town. After all, the indoor pool consumes a lot of energy. In any case, the aging building is actually due for a major refurbishment, when this will be implemented is also open in view of the question of costs. In any case, the municipal council has now postponed a decision on the repair of the exhaust air shaft until further notice. Whether the market town wants and can continue to afford its pool despite the high energy prices seems unclear at the moment.
At the end of the year, the cheap old contract with the energy supplier expires
What is certain, however, is that the rising prices for Kirchseeon come at a really bad time. As Mayor Paeplow said, a relatively cheap old contract with an energy supplier will expire at the end of the year. The new contract should therefore be correspondingly expensive for the market. “The costs for the energy supply will shoot up immensely,” says the mayor, who is already worried about the budget for the coming year, in which the additional expenses will have to be factored in. For Paeplow it is therefore clear: “Whatever is unnecessary will be switched off.”
The elementary school in Eglharting, which is in need of renovation, uses about twice as much energy as comparable facilities.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
This should primarily affect schools and daycare centers. According to Paeplow, it cannot be the case that the lights are on in some facilities even at the weekend. While this type of waste is easy to fix, there are far bigger problems elsewhere. According to the mayor, the “problem child” is the elementary and middle school in Eglharting. According to an analysis by the municipality, the building, which is in dire need of renovation, consumes around twice as much energy as comparable facilities. In the short term, however, this circumstance cannot be remedied, as this would require a thorough renovation of the school, which an architect recently described as “dinosaur-like”. In the short term, at least not before the coming winter, there won’t be much improvement there.
In the meantime, the market community has already devoted itself to another topic related to the energy crisis. There was a first test run with an emergency generator for the town hall administration, as Mayor Paeplow answered Domenico Ciccia’s question. The SPD municipal council wanted to know whether there was also an emergency plan for Kirchseeon should the entire power supply collapse. One is currently being developed in the Ebersberg district office for the entire district. In the town hall of the market town, meanwhile, one sees oneself prepared for a so-called blackout. “It worked. At least the administration can be supplied with emergency power,” said Paeplow about the test run. The aggregates used would ultimately be operated with conventional diesel, “and the tanks are full”.