As of: March 27, 2024, 10:55 a.m
By: Amy Walker
Comments
Press
Split
The federal government has completely unexpectedly stopped the payment of funding for energy consultancies.
The industry reacts in shock.
Berlin - The federal government's austerity program strikes again: completely surprisingly and from one day to the next, the traffic light coalition stopped the payment of funding for energy consultancies.
Der Spiegel
reports on this
and cites a letter from the responsible authority to the Association of Energy Consultants.
There is therefore an “approval pause”, according to the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA).
Funds that have already been promised will still be paid out, it goes on to say.
Energy consultations are funded with up to 1,700 euros
According to Spiegel
, the authority justifies the step
by saying that the Ministry of Finance has not released the funding.
The tense budget situation requires careful distribution of funds in order to be able to react to sudden changes if necessary.
“The federal government has therefore decided not to allocate all the funds to the managing bodies right at the beginning of the year,” the magazine quoted a Bafa spokeswoman as saying.
Energy advice is actually funded by the state with up to 80 percent of the costs; a maximum of 1,700 euros is paid for advice.
Such advice is intended to help homeowners prepare their property for the energy transition.
A so-called “individual renovation roadmap” (iSFP) is drawn up, which shows the individual steps to improve the energy efficiency of the building and sets out the time and financial aspects.
Anyone who sets up an iSFP receives additional subsidies from the state when implementing the measures.
What is also new since 2024 is that energy advice is mandatory before installing a new gas heating system.
Only those who have previously received comprehensive information from an energy consultant about the CO₂ price and the possible costs associated with a new gas heating system can have such a heating system installed.
This is part of the new heating law that has been in force since January 1st.
“This bickering must come to an end”: Industry angry about another funding stop
Energy advice is therefore a key element of the energy transition that the federal government wants to promote.
The funding stop - which, by the way, is not the first sudden stop in funding - is once again unsettling those wanting to renovate.
Those who suffer are not only energy consultants themselves, who often advertise with the federal subsidy, but also the construction industry, which is currently happy about every single order.
“I cannot understand how trust can be destroyed by repeating elementary mistakes,” writes the President of the Hessian construction industry, Thomas Reimann, when asked by
Ippen.Media
.
“As soon as the Growth Opportunities Act has been abolished by the Federal Council, one of these faux pas is made again, which will scare investors and hit the construction industry hard again.”
For his industry, energy consulting is “like fertilizer for plants in spring.”
A good energy consultant has the knowledge and experience necessary to find energy-efficient solutions for the home.
© Tobias Hase/dpa-tmn
The chairman of the Association of Energy Consultants, Stefan Bolln, also expressed concern in
Spiegel
: “The renewed funding stop is causing enormous uncertainty and unnecessarily delaying renovation projects.”
As early as the end of 2023, when the budget freeze was announced, the energy consultant industry saw its existence threatened by the funding stop.
“This bickering must come to an end if the credibility of those politically responsible is not to be further questioned,” said Thomas Reimann to
Ippen.Media.
It was initially not clear how long the funding program would be stopped.
Bafa actually falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, but the funding is released by the Ministry of Finance.
The funds are paid for from the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), i.e. not from the regular federal budget.
Around 240 million are planned for energy consulting for 2024.