The leadership of Budapest adopted the city’s First Energy Package to cut back on the cost of operating public services and to increase the security of the capital’s energy supply, announced the Mayor of Budapest.
Gergely Karácsony highlighted some of the measures introduced in the framework of the First Energy Package, for instance, buildings that belong to the municipality cannot be cooled below 25°C and heated above 21°C in winter.
This year, decorative lighting in the capital will be two hours shorter per day, and another 19,000 outdated light fixtures will be replaced in public lighting by the end of 2024 to increase energy savings.
Budapest also joined the so-called Cities Energy Saving Sprint initiative, launched by the European Commission, the Covenant of Mayors and the European Committee of the Regions, that encourages cities to take measures that will immediately reduce their energy consumption.
The city leadership of Budapest will also establish a permanent residential advisory office to support solar developments in the city.
The Mayor of Budapest said that the measures are part of their efforts to ensure that Budapest “won’t be at the mercy of Russia” in terms of energy. The Hungarian government agreed with Russian energy giant Gazprom to deliver 5.8 million cubic metres more natural gas per day to Hungary on top of the contracted volume starting from today.