Hungarian city has to resort to brutal emergency measures due to soaring costs

The mayor of Szolnok addressed the city’s residents in a Facebook post about the effects of the energy crisis. The city would make drastic cost cuts, and the planned measures will be decided on Thursday by the Szolnok assembly.

Ferenc Szalay reported that the rise in energy prices will mean an additional HUF 700 million (EUR 1.75 million) in expenditure in Szolnok on top of the HUF 777 million (EUR 1.88 million) planned for this year. What is more, next year, at current prices, they will have to set aside HUF 4.1 to 4.7 billion (EUR 9.9-11.4 million) for gas and electricity, Portfolio reports.

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The measures to be taken

The following steps will be decided at Thursday’s general assembly:

• Street lighting will be switched off between 0.00 and 4.00 AM, except on Fridays and Saturdays.
• The old building of the Aba-Novák Agóra Cultural Centre (Aba-Novák Agóra Kulturális Központ) will close for the winter.
• Szolnok TV will move to the Agóra and the office building at 1 Baross street.
• The Szigligeti Theatre will be closed from December until the end of February, with no performances.
• RepTár – Szolnok Aviation Museum will be closed in January and February.
• The Tiszaliget Sports Hall will be closed, and will only open for the matches of Szolnok Olajbányász KK (Szolnok Oil Miners Basketball Club).
• Some buildings of the Damjanich János Museum will be closed for the winter.
• The branch libraries of the Verseghy Ferenc Library will be closed for the winter, and the upper two floors of the county library will be closed.
• The beach on Véső street will not be open in winter.
• The city’s nurseries and kindergartens are up and running, with groups being moved from some of the more expensively heated buildings to more modern ones.
• At the town hall, the central heating will be set at 18 °C. Further ways to reduce energy bills are being explored.

The above steps are expected to save 34 percent of electricity consumption and 26 percent of gas consumption.

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Source: Portfolio, Telex