Woes Of Electrical Discussion

 Last night (Monday) ran Hart Aber Fair on Channel One (ARD, public TV)....the public forum show.  Topic?  "Too expensive gas, not enough electricity: Doesn't nuclear power have to run longer?" 

If you want to view the show? For about a month, it'll be up at this site (in German, I should note).  

This went on for about 75 minutes (live) and it's probably a show that scared the crap out of a lot of Germans.

The most dramatic moment?  They had a owner of a German bakery up (Caterina Künne).  Hanover operation, with seven outlets.  In a normal year....their electrical bill was in the 120k Euro range, which is hefty but predictable.   They got the warning letter in the past couple of weeks....the new amount is near 1.1 million Euro (ten times the amount considered normal).

Odds of survival?  I would suggest that if the government doesn't step in with something in the next sixty days....they (thousands of operations like this) probably will shut down.  Just trying to imagine the cost of a brotchen in this situation....you'd have to price it at 5 Euro (each), and that's crazy talk.

Just trying to figure a pub, or barber-shop, or cafe, or grocery-store operation's electrical bill into reality....is near impossible.  There's serious recession coming....the type you only see once a century.

For myself?  We've had the natural gas warning bill....which went to double the normal value. Electrical warning bill will be in six weeks roughly, and I expect it to be two to three times the average bill.

My gut feeling?  For those who watched last night....there's a serious amount of worrying that lingers now.  Half the business operations in Germany could shut down in a matter of weeks, unless some dramatic action by the coalition government occurs.  This action?  It wouldn't shock me if the government put all of the electrical providers in a national ownership situation, but that leaves the government managing something that is fairly screwed before they even touched the system. 

That typical bag at the local bakery that I'd buy on Saturdays for 7.32 Euro?  Within a couple of weeks, I expect it to go up to around 15.00 Euro (minimum).  

Going to be a rough winter.