The debate about the Building Energy Act (GEG) before the summer break was “unfortunately very unobjective”, Pop criticized. Many consumers are now unsettled because of this. “The falling number of applications for funding shows that many private households are delaying their decision to replace their heating system.”
At the same time, Pop warned of subsequent improvements to the law: “From a consumer perspective, there will continue to be criticism of the GEG, for example because certain new heating systems, such as hydrogen heaters, are threatened with cost traps,” said Germany’s top consumer advocate for the RND. She therefore thinks it “makes sense to review the Building Energy Act again in the near future and then to re-regulate specifications for the energy efficiency of buildings”.
First and foremost, however, it is now important, in addition to passing the law, to quickly decide on the announced federal funding for efficient buildings and to ensure sufficient financial support for consumers, said Pop.
The Bundestag has put the final vote on the controversial heating law on the agenda for this Friday. The traffic light factions voted on Tuesday against the resistance of the Union, AfD and left for the consultation of the so-called building energy law in the second and third reading at the end of the current week of the Bundestag. Opposition MPs sharply criticize the move.
The GEG stipulates that at least 65 percent of newly installed heating systems must be operated with renewable energies in the future, which classic oil and gas heating systems cannot achieve. From 2024, these requirements will initially only apply to new buildings in new development areas. For all other buildings, the municipalities should first submit heat plans.
The traffic light factions wanted to pass this law, which has already been significantly modified compared to the original government decision, shortly before the summer break. At the request of CDU MP Thomas Heilmann, the Federal Constitutional Court thwarted the plan because more time was needed to discuss the text.
