The future remains uncertain. That much is certain. Apart from that, there are also many innovations and laws to come in the new year. These changes in the areas of energy, environment and housing are becoming important, as reported by the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer center and the Stiftung Warentest, among others.
Relief for gas, district heating and electricity
Life has become expensive, which is mainly due to high energy costs. The federal government wants to save citizens even worse with price brakes for gas, district heating and electricity. These will exist from March 2023 and until the end of April 2024. However, they apply retrospectively for the months of January and February, and the relief amount will then be reimbursed in March.
For 80 percent of the previous year's consumption, a capped gas price of twelve cents per kilowatt hour should apply in this period. The price cap for electricity is 40 cents per kilowatt hour, for district heating nine and a half cents per kilowatt hour should apply as a price cap. Consumers have to pay the valid contract price for consumption in excess of this.
The prices of other heating media (e.g. oil and wood pellets) have also risen. People who are financially overwhelmed here are also supported - but only in the form of a hardship fund. Since October 2022, a lower value added tax has been levied on natural gas deliveries, district heating and liquid gas to reduce costs. The tax rate was temporarily lowered from 19 to 7 percent because of the energy crisis. This regulation is to apply until the end of March 2024.
Energy requirements for new buildings tightened
The energy requirements for new buildings are increasing. According to the Building Energy Act (GEG), from 2023 the annual primary energy requirement of newly built houses may only be a maximum of 55 percent of that of the relevant reference building. Previously it was 75 percent. In 2025, the value should drop to a maximum of 40 percent. From January 2023, responsibility for the promotion of the new building will also shift to the Ministry of Construction. The ministry is currently working on new guidelines for new building subsidies. They are to apply from March 1, 2023. In 2022, the government stopped funding in its old form and then greatly reduced it.
Solar systems are becoming even more attractive
The new version of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) brings many innovations and bureaucratic simplifications for typical photovoltaic house systems (PV) between three and 20 kilowatts of power (kWp). In addition, starting in 2023, PV systems with an output of up to 30 kWp will be exempt from income tax; previously, the exemption only applied to systems up to 10 kWp. Sales tax will also no longer be charged on the purchase of a PV system from January 1, 2023, making the systems 19 percent cheaper for consumers.
The specification that only a maximum of 70 percent of the nominal output may be fed into the public power grid will be completely eliminated from January 1, 2023 for new solar systems with an output of up to 25 kWp. With the new version of the EEG, PV systems that are not mounted on the roof but, for example, on the garage or in the garden are also being funded for the first time. The prerequisite for this is proof that the house roof is unsuitable for a corresponding system. However, details of this new regulation are still pending.
A major change in the EEG concerns the distinction between PV systems in partial and full feed-in operation: There are higher feed-in tariffs for solar systems that have been in operation since July 30, 2022. If the PV system is up to 10 kWp, operators receive 8.2 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for partial feed-in and 13.0 cents per kWh for full feed-in. Partial feed-in means that part of the electricity generated is used for self-consumption. Operators of systems between 10 kWp and 40 kWp also receive 8.2 cents per kWh for the first ten kWp. For the system share from 10 kWp there are 7.1 cents per kWp with partial feed-in and 10.9 cents per kWh with full feed-in. Furthermore, from 2023 it will be possible to install two PV systems on the same roof more quickly in order to implement full feed-in and another system for partial feed-in. For typical small systems, however, this will probably not make sense.
Landlords are involved in the CO2 tax
Tenants still bear the costs of the CO2 tax alone. Since 2021, the state regulation has been accounting for the climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels such as oil and gas - including heating private homes with natural gas or oil. Up until now, house and apartment owners have not had to contribute to the CO2 tax. As of January 1, 2023, the following phased model will come into effect when the tax is revised: The less climate-friendly the property is, the higher the amount of money to be paid by the landlord. The levy is currently set at 30 euros per ton of CO2 caused by the emission of fuels such as oil and natural gas. A gradual increase to 55 euros per tonne is planned by 2025.
What is also new is that from 2023 real estate that uses district heating as a heating medium will also be subject to the CO2 tax. In the case of district heating, however, the fee is calculated separately because the price of CO2 is based on the European emissions trading system and the share of oil and gas in district heating generation also plays a role. In the future, the energy supplier must provide the relevant information in the heating bill so that consumers can understand how the CO2 costs are divided in each case.
Reusable in restaurants and cafes
Germany littered. 770 tons of packaging waste are generated in Germany every day from disposable containers for takeaway offers. That should change from January 1, 2023. Restaurants, but also delivery services and caterers will then be obliged by a new regulation in the Packaging Act to offer reusable containers as an alternative for food and drinks to take away and order. There is an exception for small businesses - such as bakeries or snack bars - with a maximum of five employees and a maximum of 80 square meters of retail space. However, they must accept containers brought by customers and fill food and drinks for "to go" consumption on request. They must also clearly indicate this possibility.
The new regulation is a first step in curbing packaging waste. However, the legal requirements only apply to plastic packaging. All other disposable alternatives such as pizza boxes or aluminum trays remain permitted.
Less support for e-cars
From 2023, the purchase of a new electric car will be subsidized less than before. With a purchase price of up to 40,000 euros, there is only a subsidy of 4500 euros plus a manufacturer discount of probably 2250 euros. The state will pay an additional 6,000 euros by the end of 2022. and the manufacturer discount is 3000 euros per vehicle. With new e-cars, which cost a maximum of 65,000 euros, there are only 3000 euros instead of 5000 euros. And the manufacturer discount is expected to drop from 2500 to 1250 euros. Plug-in hybrids are no longer subsidized.
