Information obligations for data centre operators – data reporting to the data centre register now possible

Energy efficiency is one of the most important issues of our time and is essential for a sustainable and climate-friendly economy. A wide variety of economic sectors have to familiarise themselves with new regulations and obligations. Data centres in Germany are no exception.

The revised Energy Efficiency Directive (EU) 2023/1791 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 September 2023 (EED) (OJ 2023 L 231, 1) sets new standards for European data centres.

The German Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) (Federal Law Gazette 2023 I No. 309), which came into force in Germany on 18 November 2023, implements the European requirements. The EnEfG imposes obligations on data centre operators. Due to their particularly high energy consumption, data centres are subject to far-reaching obligations under the EnEfG. One of these obligations is the information obligation for data centre operators set out in Section 13 (1) EnEfG, according to which certain information must be published and transmitted.

The Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364 on the first phase of the establishment of a common Union rating scheme for data centres (OJ 2024 L 2024/1364), which came into force on 6 June 2024, requires data centres to provide more detailed information and key performance indicators.

 

EnEfG

Operators of data centres (with a non-redundant nominal connected load of at least 300 kW) have to publish the information on their data centre specified in Annex 3 of the EnEfG for the previous calendar year by 31 March of each year and send it to the federal government. The reporting obligation must be fulfilled by transmitting the information to the energy efficiency register/data centre register operated by the Federal Agency for Energy Efficiency (BfEE) (Section 14 EnEfG). In this context, an approval for publication of the data can be granted.

After the deadline for initial reporting has been extended, operators of data centres with a non-redundant nominal connected load of 500 kW or more now have to send and publish the information for the first time by 15 August 2024 at the latest. As the BfEE recently announced (see the press release dated 3 July 2024), reporting to the data centre register is now possible. Operators of data centres with a non-redundant nominal connected load of 300 kW or more and less than 500 kW must send and publish the information by 1 July 2025 at the latest.

 

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364

In addition to the national information obligation under the EnEfG, there is an information obligation resulting from Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364, which only applies to data centres with an installed information technology power demand of at least 500 kW. Accordingly, the information and key performance indicators specified in Annexes I and II of the Delegated Regulation must be sent to the European database, where the scope of the information to be sent significantly exceeds that of the EnEfG.

The data centre operator doesn't report the data itself. Instead, they report their data exclusively to the national data centre register. The data is then transferred to the European database via the BfEE.

The draft legislation to amend the Energy Efficiency Act (Drucksache 20/11852) provides for a corresponding link between the EnEfG and the Delegated Regulation by including a reference to the Delegated Regulation in Annex 3 of the EnEfG.

 

Recommendation for action

Data centre operators must familiarise themselves with the information obligations outlined above. In particular, the effort involved in compiling the information, which often has to be requested from customers, should not be underestimated. Violations are also subject to fines pursuant to Section 19 (1) No. 6, (2) EnEfG.