Germany turns off hot water and heating in city after Russia gas ban sends prices spiralling
GERMANY has banned hot water and heating in a major city after Russia stopped sending its gas supplies to the country.
Heating in public buildings and swimming pools, as well as lights in museums, will be switched off in Hanover after tyrant Vladimir Putin's decision sent prices rocketing.
Town halls will fall cold and monuments will be plunged into darkness after Russian-state energy giant Gazprom strangled supplies by 20 per cent.
The city's mayor Belit Onay said the "imminent gas shortage" meant he had to cut energy consumption by 15 per cent in the Lower Saxony capital.
The move has seen residents already taking cold showers as they feel the chill of Putin's meddling.
Hanover, in the north west of the country, is the first major city in Europe to be struck by drastic changes, with others expected to feel the squeeze in the coming weeks.
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The big switch-off is likely to take place between April and September each year - with no hot water or heating in any public building during these months.
Residents' thermostats will then be set at just 20C for the rest of the year, although there will be some exemptions.
It comes as the German capital Berlin started switching off spotlights lighting up its historic monuments as part of a national effort to save energy in the face of Putin's energy war.
"Given the war against Ukraine and the energy policy threats by Russia, it's important that we be as careful as possible with our energy," the city's chief official for the environment, Bettina Jarasch, said on Wednesday.
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The policy affected six monuments from Wednesday night and will eventually strike 200 buildings and landmarks along with 1,400 spotlights over the next four weeks, Jarasch's office said.
Major landmarks such as the State Opera House and Charlottenburg Palace will be smacked by the new rules, officials said this week.
Jarasch of the Green party said that also included consumers, saying it was "the right thing to do to make a visible contribution".
Before the Ukraine war, Germany bought a whopping 55 percent of its natural gas from Russia.
It comes as Chancellor Olaf Scholz has launched a national drive to save energy, with the EU agreeing this week to slash Russian gas use across the bloc.
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Turning off air con, promoting public transport and even pushing for more efficient shower heads are included in the drastic efforts to cut energy consumption in Germany.
Officials have warned that the Kremlin could cut off supplies this winter in furious retaliation for crippling Western sanctions against Moscow for the war.