Uniform heat supply – heat supply in the city of Zurich is to be nationalized
Heat supply in the city of Zurich is to be nationalized
Under the care of the city, the company Energie 360 ° could better achieve its CO2 targets, believes the Zurich city council.
The heat supply in the city of Zurich must be bundled again. That is the goal of the left-green administered municipal council. On Wednesday evening he referred a motion from the SP, Greens and AL with 63 to 51 votes to the city council. This is now to work out a template so that the city will take over the networks for heating and cooling and the associated services from Energie 360 ° AG again.
An offer from a single source
The heat supply must be offered from a single source, demanded Walter Angst and Andreas Kirstein (both AL). And Michael Kraft (SP) added that it “cannot be a sensible strategy if three municipal companies fish in the same pond”.
Because with EWZ, ERZ Fernwärme and Energie 360 °, three companies are active in the heating market in the urban area, which are mainly owned by the city. In order for these not to cannibalize each other, a reorganization is necessary, the left-green majority.
Otherwise, the goal of net zero CO2 in 2040 cannot be achieved, as Markus Kunz (Greens) noted. According to Kunz, this goal, which other speakers described as a “mammoth task” or “generation project”, requires that all forces are bundled in order to achieve the transformation in the heat sector from fossil to non-fossil fuels.
The switch to CO2-neutral heating is only possible in the medium term if the provider is a public company.
In order to switch to CO2-neutral heating, customers in the city of Zurich need “offers with unchanged and economically viable conditions”, the motionaries had in their approach. “In the medium term, this is only possible if the provider is a public company that IS operated without the intention of making a profit.”
City council warns of delays
The city council had spoken out against the motion. The decision to outsource the gas supply from the administration was made in 1997 at the ballot box. This is particularly with the aim of giving the company “greater operational and organizational flexibility”.
In order to achieve the net zero target, the conversion of the heat supply to the Zurich building is of great importance, stated the responsible city councilor Michael Baumer (FDP). In order for this transformation to succeed, all resources are used.
“The Motion is now putting obstacles in the way of one of the three companies,” said Baumer. Energie 360 ° AG employees – specialists who the city is dependent on in view of the climate targets – would be unsettled by the reorganization required.
FDP, SVP, GLP and EVP therefore support the motion. Sebastian Vogel (FDP), for example, rated the fact that three companies with different backgrounds are active as positive: “They have different concepts and ideas, which leads to innovations.”
Opponents demand better coordination
The motion’s opponents also admitted that they must be resolutely coordinated. Like the city council, they pointed out that the heating office in Zurich had been created for this purpose. Based on their experience, the city council has the prospect of possible reorganizations at a later date.
However, this would have gone too long for the majority of the council: In view of the net zero target, the organization should not be scrambled for years, said SP councilor Kraft. Rapid action is needed to force a stronger merger of the three heat suppliers.
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