Fog in north, but few rush hour problems

Friday 08 January 2010

Fog in the north of the country has reduced visibility on the roads to 50 meters in some places but there were no serious incidents and traffic jams were normal during the morning rush hour, the ANWB motoring organisation said on Friday.

Some local roads are still affected by snow and ice but there are few problems and public transport is also running normally.

Economic affairs minister Maria van der Hoeven has given salt mining firm Frisia Zout permission to extract an extra 100,000 tonnes of salt because of the looming shortage of salt to keep the roads clear.

The minister said extracting the salt from underground in Friesland will lead to a further 5 millimetre drop in the ground level. 'This decision means I am putting national traffic safety first,' the minister said.

Environmental groups oppose salt extraction because of its effect on the ground level.

Energy bills

Consumers are already being warned that their gas and electricity bills will be much higher this year because of the freezing temperatures. According to one calculation in the Telegraaf, a 10% increase in gas usage over the year will add €100 to the average household's energy bill.

Gas supplier Gasunie has begun using extra supplies from three storage tanks on the Maasvlakte port area of Rotterdam to meet demand.

Environmental research institute Milieu Centraal says in the Telegraaf, putting up the central heating themostat by one degree leads to a 7% increase in gas usage.

© DutchNews.nl

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