Jail was never meant for non violent offenders…. This isn’t even an offense. It’s none of the government’s business.
That doesn't sound so weird to me. The whole point of rationing (which isn't happening yet[1]) is that efficient market allocation in severe shortages isn't capable of meeting society's needs, and that the government needs to step in to do the allocation instead. Now, knowing HN, there are going to be a lot of people here who reject this premise a priori. But nonetheless that is the premise behind the law, and given that having some sort of enforcement mechanism is necessary, just like it is for all laws.
[1] And probably won't. The idea of shutting off gas is a pretty obvious bluff by Russia. They need that cash at least as much as the Europeans need the gas.
Shutting off the taps has limited long term utility if Europeans reduce demand for Russian gas by introducing substitutes or otherwise reducing demand!
Rationing gas like this is foolish in all cases. That's what markets are for. They have no way to enforce this and it can only cause immense social strife for near zero payback. You'd think they'd have learned from the attempt to break up families at Christmas to punish the unvaccinated, but no. The current Federal Council really is trash.
That said, I think the idea is mostly unworkable, it would be much better to look at differences in energy bills for similar size homes and send round advisors to mee the home owners and discuss how they might improve energy efficiency.