European countries are preparing for a harsh winter, where heating is not guaranteed and energy prices will continue to break records. These concerns already bring some Governments and large companies on the continent to prepare for the new conditions, resulting from the reduction of fossil fuel imports from Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine, and especially from the obvious shortage of natural gas.
The German government is currently preparing an emergency plan to deal with a severe energy crisis in the coming months. It plans to allocate gas for heating homes as a top priority, but will budget it for industry, prevent heating from public buildings (museums and government buildings) and leisure facilities (such as swimming pools), and will even increase the use of coal in power plants to try to produce more electricity (instead of using gas for its production). . As part of the plan, the government also suggests considering the possibility of returning to the Corona days and allowing massive work from home, although the format is not clear at the moment.
Like at the beginning of the corona virus
“We have to talk about the way we will save energy by using more work from home (Home Office),” said last week German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who is leading the government’s attempt to survive the winter, after Russia reduced its gas flow even more in recent days . The dust clarified that it is clear that “working from home is not suitable for everyone… but we must be free to think about it”.
Some companies are actually happy about this option, especially if they receive a government voucher, because it will allow them to save on heating the offices and “drop” the costs on those who work from home.
Germany has 26 million office jobs, and saving their heating this coming winter may be a critical element in reducing the required consumption, if Germany wishes to successfully deal with the reduced amounts of gas for heating. Some of the companies in the country have already made it clear that they will monitor the thermostats in the offices this coming winter, to prevent “overheating”, and some have already announced that they will switch to a work-from-home format if prices continue to soar and considering the national situation.
The veteran Henkel company, which produces cleaning materials, consumer products and chemicals, announced at the beginning of the month that it was considering making the move. “We may re-adopt working from home for a limited period of time, as we did during the corona epidemic,” said the company’s CEO Carsten Knobel, “but this time the goal will be to save energy, for the sake of the national interest.”
The company clarified that in this case, the employees will also “save” the cost of traveling to work. Henkel, which employs more than 52,000 people, will be able to drastically reduce the heating in the empty offices in the winter and save on expenses but also on gas for heating, a resource in acute shortage in Germany these days. Like other companies, the German company (which produces well-known brands such as Persil washing powder) is reconsidering the use of gas for its production needs. “We will look into the use of coal and fuel instead,” clarified the CEO in an interview with him.
save fuel for driving
Working from home as a means to save the use of fossil fuels in Europe is also one of the sections in the ten-section plan published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) at the beginning of the current energy crisis. The IEA suggests that employers allow work from home for three days per work week where possible. The organization emphasizes the savings that will be recorded as a result of the use of fuel, which may be directed to electricity generation instead of driving. He estimates that about a third of the jobs in the developed economies can be done from home in this partial format.
In Europe, workers travel an average of 30 km to work each day (including returning home), and the elimination of travel will amount to savings of approximately 2-3 dollars per day, and will be reflected in a significant reduction in gasoline and diesel consumption. The two-degree heating in the country can save up to 15% of the country’s gas consumption, which also relies significantly on imports from Russia.
Who will finance the heating?
Legislators in countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Great Britain are already trying to deal with the growing increase in working from home – and the expenses associated with it such as heating, communications and furniture – and to allow residents to receive tax credits.
In the UK, it is possible to get up to £650 back in taxes for those who had to work from home during the corona epidemic, but only against receipts proving that this is related to the work area and not the entire house.
In Germany, the government is now working on legislation that will allow comprehensive tax credits to be given to those who work from home, in an attempt to encourage the features of this work in the name of energy saving and environmental protection.