In the 2026 budget, the German federal government plans to allocate around €1,4 billion for the expansion of efficient heating networks through the Federal Funding for Efficient Heating Networks (BEW), €400 million more than originally planned. Additional funds are also planned for the coming years. The Association of Municipal Utilities (VKU) welcomes this as an important signal, but criticizes that the sum is insufficient for a reliable heating transition. VKU Managing Director Ingbert Liebing is calling for at least €3,5 billion annually to implement municipal heating planning, which is nearing completion in many municipalities. Without sufficient funding, the plan risks losing acceptance.
The VKU also criticizes the transfer of BEW funds from the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF) to a special fund. Liebing sees this as a "budgetary shunt" to create space in the KTF for electricity price subsidies, which raises doubts about the additionality of the infrastructure investments.
There are also uncertainties regarding the planned electricity price relief starting in January 2026. The draft budget allocates €6,5 billion for transmission grid costs, but the VKU (Association of German Electricity Producers) criticizes that co-financing only these costs would lead to regionally uneven relief. Liebing calls for a nationwide, uniform reduction in surcharges, as promised in the coalition agreement, and rapid clarity for the affected companies.
The VKU represents 1.601 municipal companies in the energy, water, waste and telecommunications sectors, which generated around 2022 billion euros in sales and invested 194 billion euros in 17.
