The Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil, has criticised the plans of Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck to ban oil and gas heating. The timing is not realistic and in the end create more harm than good, said the SPD politician of the "Bild am Sonntag". "People are now ordering new gas and oil heaters in panic. And many problems have not been resolved: Are there enough installers? What about the people who can't afford a heat pump?"

He expects Habeck to urgently sit down with the construction and housing industry, heating technicians and the energy industry and check by when which goal is to be achieved, Weil demanded. "We need longer and thus more realistic transition periods when converting the heating system."

"Do not encourage the purchase of every heat pump"

An installation ban from 2024 is unrealistic. Weil spoke out in favour of linking state aid for the retrofitting of heating systems to the level of income: "We should not promote the purchase of each heat pump with a fixed amount, but stagger the state aid according to the level of income."

The background is the discussion about a draft law that provides for stricter rules for the installation of new heating systems from 2024. According to an agreement of the traffic light coalition from spring 2022, from 2024 onwards, 65 percent of every newly installed heating system should be operated with renewable energies. This could amount to a de facto ban on new combustion engines.

Warning against panic buying

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has promised an aid program. However, the details for the transition and operating deadlines, which are important for many owners and tenants, have not yet been determined. Against a first bill from the Ministry of Economics and the Ministry of Construction, there is also resistance from the coalition partner FDP. Industry experts had warned against an overly researching approach. Politics must be guided by the realities of the market.

The Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Stefan Wenzel (Greens), warned against panic buying. "Simply holding on to oil and gas for as long as possible can be significantly more expensive in the long term than switching to climate-friendly heating in the next few years," he told Zeit Online. "That's why you shouldn't make a frantic decision to have an oil or gas heating system installed again quickly, while it's still possible."

With a view to additional support measures, Wenzel said: "For example, we must also create incentives for landlords." Already today, energy-efficient renovation measures for owner-occupiers could be tax-promoted: "This approach could be extended to landlords and businesses."

From the point of view of FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr, the concept of an income orientation of the planned aid for the installation of new heating systems has not been sufficiently thought through. "I am concerned that such a support regime will be unfair," Dürr told Mediengruppe Bayern: "We should not ban technologies for heating systems, but only set requirements for CO₂ neutrality. There may soon be gas heating systems that can be operated with hydrogen."

According to the words of network agency boss Klaus Müller, the time for gas heaters is running out. The most important alternative is heat pumps. However, there is concern that the power grids may not be equipped for this. Müller said in the "Rheinische Post", you want to prevent overload problems in the local power grid. "And it is quite clear that consumers must not be disconnected." Only if local network operators cannot avert a threat to grid stability in any other way could they temporarily dim the output. However, heat pumps and charging stations should not be switched off completely, said Müller.