Part 4: Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) - Energy Efficiency Act passes the Bundesrat

The long-discussed Energy Efficiency Act passed the Bundesrat today, Friday, 20 October 2023. This means that the law can enter into force as planned shortly on the day after its promulgation.

The Energy Efficiency Act aims to ensure that public institutions and companies make their energy consumption data more transparent and invest more in energy-efficient technologies. This should lead to cost savings and promote climate protection. Furthermore, the Act serves to implement the amendment of the European Energy Efficiency Directive into national law.

The Bundestag adopted the law on 21 September 2023. Originally, a corresponding resolution had already been targeted for 7 July 2023, but this could only be achieved after the summer break due to the lack of a quorum in the Bundestag. After extensive debates and the hearing of industry representatives, there were still some fundamental changes to the original draft by the federal government. An overview of the most important changes can be found in our article Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) - Bundestag decides on draft bill.

The law is an objection law. By not objecting, the Bundesrat is following the recommendations of the lead committee, the Committee on Economic Affairs as well as the Committee on the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

It is not yet clear when the law will be promulgated in the Federal Law Gazette and come into force, but in view of the time-consuming and cost-intensive implementation, it is expected to be promulgated soon. The law is available in German as Drucksache 478/23 here. The committee recommendation can be found here as Drucksache 478/1/23.