The Efficiency Act aims to implement the provisions of the revised EU Energy Efficiency Directive, but it goes significantly beyond the EU requirements in some areas. The Bundesrat is expected to address the law at the end of October, after which it will come into force promptly.

On the Bundestag's website, you can download the Federal Government's draft law as well as the adopted committee version in PDF format (German).

At least the coalition government – not least under pressure from the business community – has made it clear that the general savings targets are not intended to limit individual consumption and that the targets can be adjusted in the event of "extraordinary and unexpected" economic and population developments. However, there is a risk of significant legal uncertainty: Will courts simply allow the government to miss any targets? And if not, will there then be restrictions on energy consumers through the back door?

Conflicts with economic performance, flexibility and efficiency

Although the German economy has already made great progress in decoupling energy consumption from economic output, there is a fear that the unilateral focus on a massive reduction in consumption (without considering economic performance) can ultimately only be achieved by limiting operational consumption. In addition, the dogma of absolute final energy savings contradicts the flexibility required in an increasingly volatile renewable energy system. The primary energy saving target is also critical, as a lot of energy has to be used to convert electricity into hydrogen (and derivatives) – with the corresponding efficiency losses.

With its extensive operational obligations, the EnEfG also overrides operational practice—it determines which investment measures are to be considered economical, which waste heat is to be avoided and reused, or what type of electricity is to be used. The fact that the law does not rely on motivation and freedom to develop further efficiency potential in companies, but instead prioritises the limited capacities of auditors or operational energy staff for additional bureaucracy and reporting obligations, makes the matter all the more problematic.