The now well-known considerations of the Minister of the Economy, Robert Habeck, to largely close the gas network before 2045 have enormous consequences for customers and operators.

This is stated by the Association of Municipal Companies (VKU), which with 1,550 member companies is the largest interest group for the waste supply and management industry in Germany and is currently led by the mayor of Kiel, Ulf Kampf (SPD). .

In a detailed conversation with our editorial staff, representatives of the association explain what companies and private clients are currently facing. Their conclusion: The money paid by the federal government will not be enough. “The federal government must provide more resources and reliable resources.”

1.8 million industrial companies are affected

An important point: Habeck's announcement sets in motion a mechanism that means the end of gas systems in many homes and industries. In the industry alone, there are potentially 1.8 million small and large businesses affected.

“Due to the competitive situation on the heating market, the production and operation of gas network connections are always subject to economic feasibility for the network operator,” explains a VKU spokesperson. According to the Energy Industry Law, “both the rejection of new connections and the termination of existing grid connection conditions are possible if they are not economically reasonable.”

Fewer customers means that continuing operations becomes unreasonable.

And this “unacceptability” is now on display. The background to this is the economic operation of gas distribution networks. The more clients are connected to said network, the more economical it will be.

The fewer customers use an existing gas network, for example because they switch off their gas heating systems and switch to district heating or heat pumps and therefore no longer help finance the networks, the more “unreasonable” it will be for a supplier continues to operate. explains the VKU.

Political pressure is likely to result, for example, in the replacement of gas systems with electric systems, making gas networks less economical. Price increases and subsequent cancellations are just the result of this evolution.

This brings us to the next problem: in the so-called low pressure phase of natural gas, which is the connection that is usually installed at the end customer, the legal notice period is currently one month. Suddenly.

Gas prices will continue to rise

And definitely too quick to buy a new heater. In reality, it is doubtful whether these regulations “are still practical within the framework of the transformation of gas networks,” says the VKU spokesperson. The problem is already identified in the Habeck proposal and more tolerable transition periods are promised.

Another consequence of Habeck's article: the price of supplied gas will increase as more and more customers say goodbye to gas. This ensures that network costs fall on fewer consumers.

There's something else: utility companies have planned depreciation periods for their investments of 45 to 55 years. But now they only have a maximum of 20 years. That's why they have to earn more money in less time. The Federal Network Agency, the authority subordinate to Habeck that must regulate all this, has already suggested several methods to be able to more quickly decompose the elaborate networks installed.

It all comes down to the fact that gas network operators will have fully depreciated their systems by the end of 2044 at the latest and will have already “refinanced them through network usage fees” by then.

The bill to customers is higher

It is clear, VKU calculates, that the original calculation no longer works for many systems built since the 1990s/2000s. In the end, higher network fees are likely to follow, meaning customers will be billed higher.

It will also be interesting to see how municipalities accept the plans. The largest ones are mandated by the legislature to submit their “heating planning” by mid-2026. The smaller ones have a little more time and then the plans determine which gas networks will be needed and for how long.

From VKU's point of view, the deadlines for drawing up municipal heating plans are “ambitious but understandable.” But then, as VKU states, getting to the heart of the problem, the implementation is just beginning. Habeck has budgeted €3 billion for this, which should last until the conversion of the district heating network in the municipalities is completed in 2035.

This is also necessary, says the association, but not in ten years, but every year, that is, ten times more than what the Minister of Economy calculated.

The article “Grid operators sound the alarm on Habeck's gas ideas: it will be expensive for customers” comes from Business Punk.