Apparently, the Green Minister of Economic Affairs, Robert Habeck, is planning another heating law. He wants to collect details on the heating behavior of the Germans.
Munich – The debates about the heating law of Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) do not stop. Now he has even accused his coalition partner, the FDP, of "breaking his word". Apparently, the Green Minister is already planning another heating law, which is likely to cause new discussions. The draft comprises 89 pages and is probably called the "Law for Heat Planning and the Decarbonisation of Heating Networks", as the Bild newspaper reports.
Habeck is directly planning a new heating law: He demands all the details from municipalities
Accordingly, Habeck makes demands on federal states and municipalities. For example, they are to determine "building-specific annual final energy consumption of the last three years in kilowatt hours per year". For the owners and tenants in the respective buildings, this means that they must report their energy consumption of the last three years to the respective authorities.
Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. © picture alliance/dpa
Habeck also calls for further details on heating behaviour. According to the minister's wishes, the municipalities should determine how the respective buildings are heated and when these heating systems were put into operation. However, this is not the end of the matter. The minister wants even more "information about the building", as the Bild reports: This includes details such as location, year of construction, use and whether it is a protected building fabric.
Habeck ministry submits new draft: Fine of up to one million euros possible
This would entail a huge effort for the municipalities. The aim of the project: The preparation of an "as-built analysis", if necessary and possible also the tapping of data from building registers, land registers or energy certificates. The minister is therefore probably planning a screening down to the smallest detail and, according to Bild information, wants to have all buildings in Germany heated without oil and gas by 2045.
Large cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants must submit energy plans by the end of 2026 on how this can be achieved. Smaller cities and districts have until 2028 to do so. If Habeck's ideas for the submission of heat plans are not met, the municipalities face penalties of up to 100,000 euros. Should oil or gas still be used for heating after 2045, the penalty will be much juicier, according to the plans: We are talking about a fine of up to one million euros. (bb)