Germany takes more energy saving measures amid crisis

BERLIN (AA) - The energy crisis continues to concern Germany, with measures in some German states indicating how Europe's largest economy needs to save more electricity, according to local media on Monday.

To save money during the energy crisis, restaurants in the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg are thinning out their menus or keeping their doors closed more often, local media said.

"Optimization is a permanent task. But economic pressure has increased, so opening hours, menus or staff deployment are being questioned," Daniel Ohl, the spokesman for the Baden-Wurttemberg Hotel and Restaurant Association, told German press agency DPA.

As part of measures, restaurants introduced additional days off or took dishes off the menu that were rarely ordered but caused storage costs.

A little further north, in Rhineland-Palatinate, the city of Ludwigshafen, aiming to save around 150,000 kilowatt hours of electricity in the energy crisis, switched off street lighting even at the important traffic points Hochstrasse North and South.

"It is important that we as an administration set an example and conserve resources together with industry and the citizens," said Mayor Jutta Steinruck in a statement.

Saving energy in street lighting is an "ongoing process that has been consistently pursued for many years," the statement continued. Every year, around 5% of energy is saved compared to the previous year.

In the very south of Germany, in Bavaria, the Sparkasse Augsburg bank is planning to lower room temperatures to save energy, which is mandatory since the German government's new energy-saving regulations came into force in September.

Due to the new temperature requirements, the bank is now also relaxing its traditionally strict clothing regulations. "The basic principle remains, of course, but it is softened in that we ask for understanding,” a spokeswoman told local media.

"But no one will be standing around in a ragged sweater at our facility," and hats and fleece jackets should remain taboo, even if the rooms are heated up to 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) and hallways and foyers remain completely unheated, according to the spokeswoman.