Christmas lights 2023 – Cities are imposing these electricity restrictions – News


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Save electricity! That was the credo last winter. In concrete terms, that meant sitting in the office with a sweater at 19 degrees, walking through darker streets – and only being able to enjoy the Christmas lights at certain times. What will the upcoming winter look like?

The city of Zurich was a pioneer in energy saving measures last winter and announced restrictions early on. Now Zurich has relaxed this more than other places: offices can again be heated to a temperature higher than 19 degrees, churches and other monuments shine brightly at night again – and, according to the city council, the Christmas lights on Bahnhofstrasse should also shine for the same length again in previous winters.

The fact that this is not the case is because the responsible association, the City Association of Zurich, itself imposes time restrictions. “We don’t switch on the Christmas lights in the morning,” explains manager Dominique Zygmont. “And we won’t keep the Christmas lights on longer on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.”

Not only ecologically but also economically sensible

The situation is different in the city of Bern: This year there are rules as to when the Christmas lights have to be switched off. The lights go out from 11 p.m. The city of Bern’s energy director Reto Nause explains that certain lighting events will also be canceled. The street lights will continue to be dimmed if safety permits.

This makes sense ecologically, but above all economically, says Nause. The price level of energy is significantly higher than in previous years. “We therefore have the impression that it is economically worthwhile to continue these austerity measures.” And wherever comfort allows.

“Europe is better prepared than it was a year ago”


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There are also slight restrictions on electricity consumption in cities this year. However, energy is likely to be less scarce in the coming winter than last year – that’s what the director of the Federal Office of Energy, Benoît Revaz, recently said on Radio SRF’s “Samstagsrundschau”. “Europe is better prepared than it was a year ago.”

Just a year ago, Revaz warned that the winter of 2023/24 would be even more difficult than the last. The situation now looks better than forecast. This is due to the well-filled gas storage facilities in Europe and the French nuclear power plants, of which more are running than expected.

You can listen to the whole conversation here.

Basel-Stadt also wants to use the experiences of last winter and has permanently adjusted the regulations for administrative offices. There is now an upper temperature limit of 20 to 21 degrees Celsius. Mobile “heating ovens” and air conditioning units are no longer permitted, as is a personal printer at work. This year, the people of Basel can enjoy the Christmas lights – as of now – in full length, just like before.

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