On September 21, 2023, the German Bundestag passed the Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG). It is officially known as the "Act to Increase Energy Efficiency" and is an amendment to the Energy Services Act. The EnEfG is based on the new version of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) adopted in spring 2023 and transposes it into national law. Following the meeting on October 20, 2023, the law has now also passed the Federal Council. This the EnEfG in the version adopted by the Bundestag on the day after promulgation in the Federal Law Gazette enter into force.
Objectives of the Energy Efficiency Act
The main objective of this law is to Increasing energy efficiency in German companies. It is intended to help reduce primary and final energy consumption and achieve national and European energy efficiency targets. This aims to reduce energy consumption in the EU by 11.7 % by 2030. The German EnEfG is also intended to reduce the import and consumption of fossil fuelsto secure the energy supply and contribute to global climate protection.
Who is affected?
With the EnEfG, not only federal and state governments as well as public institutionsbut also many companies are confronted with additional requirements. The federal government plans to achieve savings of 45 terawatt hours per year in the federal government and five terawatt hours per year in the individual federal states by 2030. The Energy Efficiency Act also specifically defines the requirements for data centers. In future, they must comply with certain energy efficiency standards, maintain a prescribed minimum temperature for air cooling and make sensible use of waste heat. At the same time, existing facilities are required to make their power consumption more efficient. This means that data center operators should increasingly rely on the use of electricity from renewable energy sources.
EnEfG: New obligations for companies with a consumption of more than 7.5 GWh
The threshold values for the mandatory introduction of an energy or environmental management system are being readjusted. According to the version of the Energy Efficiency Act passed by the Bundestag on September 21, 2023 must now The company with a total annual energy consumption of more than 7.5 gigawatt hours (GWh) in the future an EMS or EMS to ISO 50001 or EMAS introduce. The average of the last three years is used to calculate energy consumption. Affected companies have 20 months to comply with this obligation after the law comes into force. The Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) will randomly check compliance with this requirement. For companies that are obliged to introduce an energy or environmental management system, there is no need for an energy audit. In addition, companies with an energy consumption of more than 7.5 GWh must fulfill further requirements of the EnEfG:
- As part of the introduction of an energy or environmental management system or the implementation of an energy audit prescribed by the Energy Services Act (EDL-G), the following must be carried out all energy flows in the company be determined. This basically concerns all processes, from the use of the vehicle fleet and building technology to the energy consumption of machines or the handling of waste heat. All energy-saving measures must also be defined as part of this process.
- The implementation plans for these measures must be external certifiers, assessors or auditors and made public.
- All identified measures must be evaluated economically in accordance with DIN 17463/VALERI. One measure must be implemented within two yearsif a positive net present value results after a maximum of 50 percent of the useful life (depreciation tables of the Federal Ministry of Finance).
- Waste heat sources must be identified and measures to avoid or utilize waste heat must be developed.
EnEfG: New obligations for companies with a consumption of more than 2.5 GWh
Even less energy-intensive companies with a consumption of less than 7.5 GWh must meet certain requirements under the version of the Energy Efficiency Act passed by the Bundestag. The EnEfG obliges all companies with a total annual energy consumption of more than 2.5 GWh to publish concrete, implementable plans for energy-saving measures within three years at the latest. These include
- The identification of energy-saving measures and their evaluation in accordance with DIN EN 17463 (VALERI).
- The creation and publication of implementation plans for all economically feasible measures within three years of the law coming into force.
- Confirmation of the completeness and correctness of the implementation plans drawn up by certifiers, environmental verifiers or energy auditors, to be submitted on request to the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA).
- The identification of waste heat sources and the development of measures to avoid or utilize this waste heat.
No changes to energy audit obligations under the Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG)
The obligation to carry out an energy audit for non-SMEs remains in place. The only exceptions are companies that are obliged to introduce an energy or environmental management system in accordance with the EnEfG. Companies that have more than 250 employees employ and/or a Jannual sales of more than 50 million euros resp. an annual balance sheet total of over 43 million euros are affected by the energy audit obligation. However, if both the obligation to introduce an environmental or energy management system and the energy audit obligation apply to a company, the energy audit obligation is suspended for a transitional period.
Violations of the EnEfG are heavily penalized
If companies violate the provisions of the Energy Efficiency Act, this will be classified as an administrative offense and punished with a fine. Fines of up to 100,000 euros punished.