{"id":10421,"date":"2023-10-23T14:41:06","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T12:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cubeconcepts.de\/?p=10421"},"modified":"2026-06-12T08:24:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T06:24:15","slug":"energy-efficiency-act-enefg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cubeconcepts.de\/en\/energieeffizienzgesetz-enefg\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) - New obligations for companies"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/strong> in the version adopted by the Bundestag on the day after promulgation in the Federal Law Gazette enter into force<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Objectives of the Energy Efficiency Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The main objective of this law is to Increasing energy efficiency<\/strong> 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 fuels<\/strong>to secure the energy supply and contribute to global climate protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is affected?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With the EnEfG, not only federal and state governments as well as public institutions<\/strong>but also many companies are confronted with additional requirements.<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EnEfG: New obligations for companies with a consumption of more than 7.5 GWh<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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 <\/strong>now The company <\/strong>with a total annual energy consumption of more than 7.5 gigawatt hours (GWh) <\/strong>in the future an EMS or EMS <\/strong>to ISO 50001<\/a> or EMAS<\/a> 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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n