© dpa
Energy consulting services in Berlin are to be expanded in response to high demand. This was announced by Senator for Consumer Protection Bettina Jarasch on Thursday.
One of the plans is to offer advice on ways to save energy not only at established institutions such as the consumer advice center. Other social services already supported by the state, such as family centers, neighborhood management offices and district mothers, are also to be added.
To this end, existing and new employees are to undergo short training courses to become energy advisors. Long-term unemployed people and volunteers are also going to be recruited for the task. "The need for advice has risen sharply - and will continue to rise," Jarasch said. "With the massively expanded energy-saving consultin services, we can relieve households in a very concrete way because they save money."
It is important to Jarasch to also reach non-German-speaking communities. For example, the Turkish Federation of Berlin-Brandenburg is expected to start offering low-threshold information and advice on energy in German, Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic and possibly English on January 01, 2023.
According to the senator, more information material is also needed for consumers, especially information material in foreign languages and in easy-to-understand language. In the wake of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, prices for electricity and gas, for example, have risen sharply. Against this backdrop, many people are worried about whether they will be able to pay the bills and are wondering how they can save energy and thus money. Those offering advice have been reporting a high level of demand for some time now, which is significantly higher than in previous years.
"The need is great, and so are the uncertainties and fears," said Dörte Elß from the board of the consumer center. "People seeking advice come to us differently than before, namely more and more people who thought they were actually getting by quite well - but in the crisis, just not anymore." The number of pensioners alone who come to us for advice has recently doubled.