39% Germans practising energy-saving measures

The reduction of Russian gas supplies has prompted two out of every five Germans to begin practising energy-saving measures, reported dpa.

A survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of dpa showed this.

A total of 39% of participants have reduced their energy consumption since Russia's attack on Ukraine began roiling European energy markets and sending prices soaring.

Of those, 11% said they started trying to save energy as soon as Russia's invasion began on February 24, while 28% said they have done so in the past four weeks.

Another 27% said that even before the war erupted they had been taking steps to reduce their consumption.

One popular measure is to take shorter or colder showers: 49% of the energy-savers reported doing this. A little more than half (53%) have reduced the number of electrical devices in standby mode and more than a third (35%) will have their heating appliances checked for efficiency issues or have already done so.

One in 10 have curtailed their streaming of movies or TV series, and 18% are cooking less.

Of those respondents who have not yet reduced their energy consumption, only 9% have no plans to do so - mostly because they do not see any potential for savings.

Fifteen per cent of respondents intend to cut back their energy consumption in the future, while 10% were non-committal.

Europe's largest economy is on edge after Russia began throttling gas flows last month, in what Berlin sees as retaliation for Western sanctions against Moscow.

Berlin is trying to quickly wean the country off Russian fuel, but Germany remains heavily reliant on the gas supplies and there are growing fears of a winter shortage.