2023-06-02 16:41:57
Cities and municipalities should compile how their residents will be able to heat in the future. This should bring security to owners – but many fear that detailed data will be passed on.
Building Minister Klara Geywitz has rejected criticism of the planned handling of data in municipal heat planning.
“Our draft law was presented to the Federal Data Protection Commissioner, and he had no objections,” the SPD politician told the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. “The data collected is subject to the strict General Data Protection Regulation.”
The planned law will also not lead to additional costs for owners. “No data has to be collected again,” said Geywitz. “They are already available to the energy suppliers or are contained in registers and only have to be called up by the municipalities so that they can plan sufficient heat capacity for their citizens.”
Geywitz rejects criticism
The Federal Ministry of Finance fears that this will result in a lot of bureaucracy. The German Real Estate Association (IVD) also warned against an extensive data query, which is particularly difficult for owners of single-family homes and small landlords to handle. CSU General Secretary Martin Huber spoke of a “bureaucratic monster”. Geywitz rejected this criticism. “The CSU calls for predictability today and is against heat planning tomorrow,” she said.
From the point of view of the real estate industry, the municipal plans are actually a key to the energy transition in the building sector. The central association ZIA emphasized that it is important to develop the best possible heat supply at the municipal level before new heating systems are installed in each individual building.
However, the process poses major challenges for the municipalities and will certainly require additional funds. Because so far, less than one percent of the 11,500 municipalities in Germany could show heat plans.
The association warned against too strict a connection obligation, for example to district heating. “It must be ensured that the building owners who invest in a heat pump in accordance with the law with immediate effect receive investment security for the service life of this system.” Heat pumps and other climate-friendly systems should be protected for 25 years before owners would have to connect their house to a municipal heating network. (dpa)
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