EnEfG amendment 2026: what is set to change for companies

On 5 October 2026, the Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy of the German Bundestag heard experts on the draft act to accelerate the implementation of the Energy Efficiency Directive (Bundestag printed paper 21/8027). The draft mainly amends the Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) and the Energy Services Act (EDL-G). For many companies, this shifts the obligations relating to energy audits, energy management systems and implementation plans. Important up front: this is a draft law. Until it enters into force, the existing law continues to apply unchanged.

Status of the procedure

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs circulated the ministerial draft for consultation with associations in April 2026. The Federal Cabinet adopted the government draft on 24 June 2026, and the Bundesrat issued its opinion on 10 July 2026. The first reading in the Bundestag took place on 24 September 2026, the public hearing on 5 October 2026. No date for the final deliberation has yet been given in the Bundestag documents. According to the draft, the law is to enter into force on the day after its promulgation. Changes during the parliamentary process are possible.

The background is the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EU) 2023/1791, whose transposition deadline expired on 10 October 2025. The German government wants to transpose the directive in full while reducing national requirements that go beyond EU law to the necessary minimum.

Energy audit: consumption instead of company size

The biggest change concerns the energy audit obligation under the EDL-G. Until now, companies that are not small and medium-sized enterprises (non-SMEs) have been obliged. In future, energy consumption alone is to be decisive: anyone who consumes more than 2.77 GWh of total final energy per year on average over the last three completed calendar years will be obliged. This corresponds to the EU directive threshold of 10 TJ.

This has two effects. Non-SMEs with lower consumption drop out of the obligation, and the previous de minimis rule for companies up to 500,000 kWh is abolished. Conversely, SMEs with consumption above 2.77 GWh may become subject to the audit obligation for the first time. For them, the draft provides that the first audit must be carried out no later than twelve months after acquiring that status, but no earlier than twelve months after entry into force. The explanatory memorandum estimates that around 22,800 companies will be obliged in future, instead of the current 38,300 or so non-SMEs.

The requirements in terms of content are increasing. The audit is to comply with DIN EN 16247-1 in the November 2022 edition, be based on current, measured and verifiable operating data including load profiles, examine at least 90 per cent of total final energy consumption, show the potential for renewable energy and be based on a net present value calculation. Repeat audits remain on a four-year cycle, calculated from completion of the last audit. Companies with an energy management system or EMAS are exempt, as are, under certain conditions, companies with an energy performance contract.

Energy management system only from 23.6 GWh

The obligation to set up an energy or environmental management system under Section 8 EnEfG is to apply only from an average total final energy consumption of more than 23.6 GWh per year. The current threshold is 7.5 GWh. Companies that reached this status by 31 December 2025 are to set up the system by 11 October 2027. A new explicit requirement is that the system must cover at least 90 per cent of total final energy consumption.

Companies between 7.5 and 23.6 GWh that already operate a system according to ISO 50001 should not give it up too hastily. According to the draft, an existing system continues to exempt them from the audit obligation and from implementation plans. In addition, a management system is a prerequisite under various relief schemes. Whether this applies in an individual case should be checked before making a decision.

Implementation plans: shorter deadline, no external confirmation

Section 9 EnEfG is being redrafted. Companies with consumption above 2.77 GWh and below 23.6 GWh that carry out an energy audit are obliged. Companies with an energy or environmental management system are exempt. Implementation plans for all measures identified as cost-effective in the audit are to be prepared and published within three months of completion of the audit. Under current law, the deadline is three years. A measure remains cost-effective if, according to DIN EN 17463, it results in a positive net present value after no more than 50 per cent of its useful life, limited to measures with a useful life of up to 15 years.

Confirmation by external third parties is to be abolished without replacement. Instead, the plans are to be updated annually, management must take note of them, and they are to appear in the annual report, unless trade and business secrets prevent this. BAFA is to carry out spot checks on preparation and publication. The Bundesrat had suggested a deadline of one year and dropping the publication obligation. In its counterstatement, the German government sticks to three months. This point in particular may still change during the rest of the procedure.

Waste heat and large investments

The obligation to provide information on waste heat potential is to be dropped for most businesses. Instead, a cost-benefit analysis is planned for large industrial installations, energy supply facilities and data centres above certain capacity limits when planning or significantly modernising them. For large investment projects of €100 million or more, or €175 million or more for transport infrastructure, the draft provides for an examination of more energy-efficient alternatives in line with the energy efficiency first principle.

What companies should do now

• Reliably determine total final energy consumption for the last three completed calendar years and compare the average with the planned thresholds of 2.77 GWh and 23.6 GWh.
• Clarify whether the company will become newly subject to the audit obligation in future, drop out of it, or take the route via a management system.
• Continue to meet deadlines under current law, in particular ongoing implementation plans with external confirmation.
• Review the metering concept, as the draft requires measured data and coverage of 90 per cent of consumption.
• Prepare internal processes so that an implementation plan could be published within three months of the audit.
• Follow the rest of the procedure in the Bundestag and adjust your own planning after adoption.

How LUNEXS supports you

LUNEXS supports companies as a BAFA energy auditor according to DIN EN 16247-1 and as lead auditor for ISO 50001. The EnEfG check helps you classify which obligations exist under current law and which could change under the draft. The Energy audit according to DIN EN 16247-1 provides the data basis for measures and implementation plans. You will find templates and tools in our resources.

Technical information. No legal or tax advice and no guarantee or commitment. For a binding assessment of your individual case, please consult a specialist lawyer or tax adviser.