EnBW does not have to remove district heating network after BGH ruling

Federal Court of Justice - EnBW does not have to remove district heating network after BGH ruling

According to a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), the energy company EnBW does not have to dismantle the facilities of the Stuttgart district heating network. In this respect, the Senate ruled differently than the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court (OLG), said the presiding judge Wolfgang Kirchhoff on Tuesday in Karlsruhe. In addition, the Cartel Senate confirmed the decisions of the lower courts with regard to the question of who owns the district heating network, among other things. Accordingly, EnBW is the owner. The state capital could not demand the transfer of ownership of the network. (Ref. KZR 101/20)

The reason for the dispute was a contract that expired in 2013 and was never renewed. On this basis, EnBW had laid the district heating network and continued to expand it to its current 218 kilometers - mostly on municipal land.

The state capital had sued the energy supplier for the transfer of ownership of the facilities, among other things. This had already been rejected by the previous instances; the BGH did not change this either. However, in 2020, the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart ordered the Karlsruhe-based energy company to dismantle the plants in case of doubt. This is now off the table.

Statement from the court

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1. Despite the ruling of the Higher Regional Court of Karlsruhe in 2020, the Federal Court of Justice upheld the previous decisions and ruled that EnBW does not need to dismantle its Stuttgart district heating network.
2. EnBW, as the owner of the district heating network, was initially sued by the state capital for the transfer of ownership of the facilities, a request that was denied by various courts, including the Federal Court of Justice.
3. The initial dispute arose from a contract that expired in 2013, after which EnBW laid and expanded the district heating network to its current 218 kilometers, primarily on municipal land in Stuttgart.
4. The district heating network in Stuttgart covers a total of 218 kilometers and is operated by the energy group enbw energie baden-württemberg.
5. The district heating network in Baden-Württemberg's state capital is a significant energy infrastructure, and the court's decision to allow EnBW to keep operating it is expected to have implications for similar cases and processes involving municipalities and energy companies in the region.

Source: www.stern.de