Against resistance from Bavaria
Federal Council initiates municipal heat planning
December 15, 2023, 4:08 p.m
In the future, homeowners will have to comply with the heating plan of their respective municipality when installing new heating systems. The Federal Council is now also waving through a corresponding law. But there are doubts as to whether the schedule envisaged can actually be adhered to.
The Federal Council has approved the law on municipal heat planning. A request from Bavaria to appeal to the mediation committee did not find a majority. In a motion for a resolution, the states called for more money from the federal government for heat planning in cities and municipalities. Funds previously earmarked were not sufficient. The Association of Cities warned of a delay and called for corresponding laws at the state level.
The Bundestag has already passed the law on municipal heat planning. It supplements the Heating Act and is scheduled to come into force at the same time as this on January 1, 2024. Large cities should draw up heat plans by the end of June 2026, smaller cities and municipalities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants by the end of June 2028. Only when a municipality has a heating plan do homeowners have to ensure when installing new heating that it is powered by at least 65 percent renewable energy. The new heating law will initially apply to new buildings within new development areas from 2024.
Federal Construction Minister Klara Geywitz said in the Bundesrat that homeowners would have to make the most economical decision if the heating broke one day and they had to buy a new one. To do this, they would need clarity as to whether they will be connected to a central district heating network or a local heating network in the next few years or whether they should look for their own decentralized solutions – such as a heat pump.
The draft law does not contain any obligation to connect or use heating networks, said Geywitz. The federal government is supporting the municipalities’ heat planning with 500 million euros. The Baden-Württemberg Environment Minister Thekla Walker said that federal funding must be consolidated and expanded.
Criticism from Bavaria and the Association of Cities
Bavaria had requested in an application that the Federal Council call the mediation committee on the heat planning law in order to “repeal the legislative resolution of the German Bundestag”. The application states that the law imposes additional tasks on the states and subsequently on the municipalities in a significant number and on a significant scale – without the federal government even beginning to compensate for the additional financial burden associated with it or even making any concrete commitments in this regard.
The German Association of Cities is calling on the states to quickly implement it into state law. “It is not enough that there is a heat planning law at the federal level. Only when state laws are in place can cities collect data on existing buildings or existing heat networks,” said Managing Director Helmut Dedy. This is the first step for any municipal heat planning.
“Unfortunately, we are receiving signals that the states could use the open questions about the federal budget as an opportunity to wait with the necessary state laws on heat planning,” said Dedy. However, the deadlines for municipalities to create a heat plan are already tight in the Heat Planning Act and without any buffer.