Energy Prices Reduced; Truck Burns, Diesel Spills; Animal Smugglers Busted; New App For Young Career Seekers

News For 29 August 2017

Customers of Basel energy provider EBM will be paying less for electricity next year. For household electricity, the price will be reduced by around 2.4 %. Industry and business customers will pay around 1.9 % less. The main reason for the price reduction is the lower procurement costs from long term contracts. According to EBM, an electric bill for a four-person household in Baselland with an average consumption of 4500 kilowatt hours will be 36 CHF less than in 2017. A one-person household, using 1600 kilowatt hours, will save 13 CHF.

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On Monday morning, a truck burned out completely in Steinen, Germany, close to Lörrach. While it was on fire, it leaked a sizeable amount of Diesel fuel, which then ended up in the river Wiese. Since this river flows to Basel, the drinking water acquisition in Lange Erlen in Riehen was preemptively cut off. The Wiese goes right through Lange Erlen on its way towards the Rhine, which is where Basel-Stadt extracts drinking water by using groundwater enrichment diverted from the Rhine.

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Apparently, meat is not the only "hot" commodity being smuggled into Switzerland.  Basel border customs personnel confiscated 5 animals which were found in the boot of a vehicle trying to enter Switzerland on Sunday.  The three cats and two dogs, all highly prized breeds, were placed in quarantine and the drivers forced to pay registration and boarding costs for the animals.  Cantonal customs regulations allow border control to assume the animals were intended for resale, and will be be returned from the veterinary office once the fees and health of the animals are properly sorted.

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A new free app called BIZ published by Basel's Vocational Information Center helps young people make career decisions.  Released on the App Store and Google Play, the app is especially helpful for those just finishing their compulsory schooling and undecided about continuing with school or an apprenticeship.  Starting with a six question mini-test, the user is provided with a preliminary career direction assessment.  Best of all, the app is tied in with the official cantonal apprenticeship certificate program. This database provides instant information on apprenticeship vacancies in 250 professions in 22 different professional fields, according to Lars Hering, head of the Professional counseling Department at the Vocational Information Center.  Once subscribed, a user can even receive push notifications when a prospective position opens in their area of interest.