Federal agency experiences flood of demand for energy consultancy
The Ministry of Economy announces a reduction in the funding of energy advice. The news causes a rush of homeowners to the authority responsible for energy advice. The online portal of the Federal Office collapses temporarily.
The short-term announcement of the reduction in funding for energy advice has led to a rush at the responsible Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA). Between Monday and Wednesday, 13,000 applications were submitted, the Federal Ministry of Economics announced in Berlin. Previously, the daily average was 440 applications.
The online portal of BAFA temporarily collapsed under the high demand, making it impossible to submit an application for funding on August 6, as the ministry further announced. Affected parties can submit their application retrospectively under the old funding conditions; a simple declaration is required. The ministry warned of fraud attempts: BAFA has recorded applications started on August 6 and verified failed attempts.
The Ministry of Economy announced on August 5 that funding would be significantly reduced - effective from August 7. Since then, an energy advice for an energy-efficient building renovation has only been covered at 50 percent instead of the previous 80 percent. The maximum grants have been halved to a maximum of 650 euros for single or two-family houses and 850 euros for houses with three or more apartments.
150,000 applications expected by the end of the year
"Unfortunately, such decisions have to be made with short notice," the ministry explained. "Unfortunately, this is not possible otherwise, so that the funds are not quickly exhausted by a rush."
On Monday, the ministry explained that the reduction in funding was "inevitable" given the fiscal situation and the continued high demand for funded energy advice. By July of this year, the number of applications for energy advice in residential buildings had reached a record high of 80,000. The federal government expects more than 150,000 applications by the end of the year.
Energy advice is intended to support consumers in renovating their homes in an energy-efficient manner. This can include, for example, window replacement or insulation of exterior walls. The experts advise on which measures are sensible and in which order they should be implemented.
An individual renovation schedule (iRS) can also be created, which offers further funding opportunities: Those who have an iRS created can receive 20 percent funding for the actual renovation instead of 15 percent. The eligible expenses for individual measures are doubled with an iRS from 30,000 euros to 60,000 euros.
In response to the Ministry of Economy's announcement of reduced funding for energy efficiency advice, many homeowners have surged to the BAFA, resulting in a temporary collapse of its online portal on August 6. With the new funding conditions, energy efficiency advice for building renovations is now covered at only 50%, a significant decrease from the previous 80%.
