The German Industry Initiative for Energy Efficiency (DENEFF) is sounding the alarm in light of the planned amendment to the Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) and warns against a dilution of proven standards.
The German economy faces considerable pressure from high energy costs and energy import dependency of more than two-thirds of demand. Despite high energy prices and still significant economic efficiency potential, investments in efficient buildings and industrial processes are at a low point. This dilemma cannot be overcome by the market or CO₂ prices alone.
Christian Noll, Managing Director of DENEFF, explains: "We need a stable framework for more productive energy use, otherwise we risk Germany falling behind internationally and companies remaining stuck in investment uncertainty. The federal government must preserve the established energy management standards in the EnEfG amendment, which support companies in implementing efficiency potentials on their own responsibility, and not weaken them further."
Planning Uncertainty with Tangible Consequences
According to DENEFF, even discussions about potential weakening of the EnEfG and Building Energy Act intensify planning uncertainty and prevent urgently needed investments in more efficient energy use. Increasingly, domestic supplier companies from industry and service sectors, including numerous medium-sized companies in an industry with over one million employees total, are reporting short-time work, hiring freezes, and plant closures. The debate about the EnEfG is also often conducted one-sidedly and without objectivity, without considering the macroeconomic consequences.
Preserving Proven Standards
With now published background information and fundamental recommendations, DENEFF advocates maintaining the proven requirements for energy management systems (EnMS) as a foundation for the economic use of energy. However, reporting effort could certainly be reduced and simplified through consolidation and streamlining of reporting obligations.
Germany is legally obligated under European law to take additional, not fewer, measures to finally and fully implement the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), according to DENEFF. There can be no talk of excessive zeal or so-called "gold-plating." Germany has already fallen significantly behind the EU average in improving energy efficiency. If existing instruments are weakened, further foreseeable target failures threaten, along with EU penalties and avoidably harsher measures.
Potential in Waste Heat and Energy Services
Great potential for economic energy savings lies in the consistent use of waste heat and the elimination of existing market barriers for the energy services industry. To avoid a subsidy spiral and sustainably relieve the economy in the long term, a new agreement between German industry and the federal government should be sought. Such an agreement existed within the framework of the peak equalization for energy and electricity tax. New energy price subsidies such as the industrial electricity price must also be linked again to the implementation of economic efficiency measures.
Noll emphasizes: "To permanently relieve companies, increase competitiveness and prevent a subsidy spiral, energy efficiency and energy price relief must be thought of together again. This is the only way to secure prosperity and resilience in the long term and achieve EU energy efficiency targets." DENEFF calls on the federal government to use the EnEfG amendment as an opportunity: to streamline reporting obligations, simultaneously create investment security, and establish energy efficiency as an economic opportunity.
