The Association of Municipal Enterprises (VKU) has called on the federal government to take decisive and rapid action in energy policy. “We have long reached a point at which any further hesitation will act as a brake on investment” said VKU chief executive Ingbert Liebing to papers of the Funke Media Group on Monday. “Companies, municipalities and citizens need clarity as soon as possible”.
Liebing criticized the autumn announcements, stating that major projects should already be in the legislative process, yet many key details remain missing. He warned that the anticipated “winter of decisions” risks becoming a “winter of avoidance”.
While the government has achieved a breakthrough in the power‑plant strategy and reached a preliminary agreement with the EU Commission-plans include tenders for new gas‑fired plants-Liebing notes that without a concrete draft law, the agreement remains a political promise with no investment‑ready framework.
To prevent the supply from becoming concentrated in a few hands, the VKU calls for smaller tendered markets. “Supply security comes from diversity. We need competition” Liebing said. “Municipal utilities can contribute if the framework is set correctly”.
The VKU is also seeking revisions to the Building Energy Act, often called the “Heating Act”. All climate‑neutral heating technologies must remain equally viable; legal requirements should not exclude options or pre‑determine them. Only then can municipalities design economically sensible heating plans.
The association criticized the regulations for district heating, particularly the cost‑neutrality rule in the heating‑supplier regulation, which hinders a switch to district heating while heat pumps are not subject to this restriction. “For a successful heating transition we need equal conditions for all technologies” Liebing stated.
He further argues that landlords should be allowed to raise rent by up to 50 cents per square metre per month when switching to district heating, just as they can when installing heat pumps. “Climate‑friendly district heating must not be disadvantaged” he said. He urges the Federal Ministry of Justice to implement this part of the coalition agreement promptly.