Polish city cancels New Year’s Eve and cuts Christmas lights amid sky-high energy costs

The traditional New Year’s Eve celebrations in the city of Wrocław will not take place this year, while Christmas illuminations will be confined to the city’s main market square, as city officials scramble to save on electricity bills amid skyrocketing energy prices and accelerating inflation.

Other lighting and the temperature and water in public buildings will also be reduced, while various events and festivals have been cancelled, Wrocław mayor Jacek Sutryk has said in a press conference.

A tender to supply electricity to the city has been cancelled after the only offer – from a subsidiary of the state-owned company PGE – was over six times the current cost.

Wrocław would have to pay 405 million zloty (€85.2 million) on its 270 city units, including schools and public transport, compared to the 66 million zloty (€13.9 million) its electricity bill cost this year, city hall announced.

Wrocław will limit Christmas illuminations to its main square, as well as cancelling events including New Year’s celebrations, which usually feature concerts, reports Gazeta.pl. It also cancelled its marathon earlier this year “because of the new reality the city has to function in”, and the Europe on the Fork food festival will also not take place.

Other energy-saving measures include reducing the temperature in the city-managed buildings to no more than 19 degrees Celsius. City employees will work remotely where possible, and the temperature of the tap water in public buildings will also be reduced.

Deputy mayor Renata Granowska promised that the conditions of children in schools will not be affected.

Wrocław’s stadium will be illuminated only on the weekends, beginning this week, and bridges will be lit up only until 10 p.m. City hall is also looking into the possibility of switching off the streetlights on streets where it will not pose a risk to residents.

“The situation is so serious that it threatens the implementation and delivery of services to the residents of Wrocław and many other cities,” said the mayor, noting that other cities are also affected. “In Poznań, the (tender) bid jumped from 87 million to 409 million. In Olsztyn, by 540%. In Bydgoszcz, the only bid submitted is also five times higher. In Radom, an increase of almost 900%.”

“The situation is serious. The Polish state is in crisis,” said Sutrzyk, noting that the cities’ income have been reduced due to the government’s recent tax law overhaul, and that Poland is still to receive money from the EU’s recovery plan.

“As local authorities, we will demand that the government take protective measures,” he said, quoted by the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

Development minister Waldemar Buda addressed the problems faced by cities this week, announcing “a programme to support energy efficiency in local authorities” and addressing such issues as street lighting.

“Local authorities switching off street lighting…is something we cannot afford,” Buda said, quoted by PAP. “We cannot allow Poland to be dark.”

“I understand (that we can turn off) shop windows, and facades, but certainly not the streetlights. Poles want to feel safe also in this difficult situation, so this programme will be dedicated to all local governments that will be willing and interested in saving (energy).”

Earlier this month Polish government announced its plans to freeze electricity prices in 2023 at this year’s levels for the first 2,000 kilowatt-hours used by households. It also obliged national and local authorities to reduce electricity consumption by 10% from 1 October 2022.

Main photo credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland (under CC BY-NC 2.0)

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.