Pipes can be seen © in the district heating distribution station of the combined heat and power plant 3 Stuttgart-Gaisburg Marijan Murat/dpa/Symbolbild
The Heating Act has been the subject of controversial discussion for weeks. A draft of the Heat Planning Act has also recently been controversial. Apparently, however, the traffic light has now reached an agreement.
Berlin - According to information from the Ministry of Construction, the traffic light coalition has agreed in principle on a law for municipal heating plans.
The previously controversial draft will be sent to the federal states and associations for hearing on Wednesday, a ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday evening. "The previous objection to dispatch during the departmental vote has been lifted." Previously, FDP-led ministries had expressed concerns.
Now this draft, which is closely linked to the also controversial Heating Act, "can be discussed in a reasonable time," the Ministry of Construction said.
The federal states and municipalities have a duty
The Heat Planning Act obliges states and municipalities to submit concrete plans in the coming years on how they want to convert their heating infrastructure to be climate-neutral. For large cities, these heat plans should be ready by the end of 2026, while smaller cities should have two years longer. To this end, grid operators and industrial companies, among others, are to provide data on energy sources and consumption.
The heating plans of the municipalities are intended to be an important orientation for citizens, because they can find out whether their house will soon be connected to a district or local heating network - or whether they should convert their heating to a heat pump in the foreseeable future. Dpa