More local authorities launched heat planning

19.11.2025

Source: E & M powernews

The KWW Municipalities Survey 2025 shows: More and more municipalities are gaining practical experience in heat planning, while significant hurdles remain.

The latest survey by the German Energy Agency's (Dena) Competence Center for Municipal Heat Turnaround (KWW), in which 967 municipalities took part, shows the progress made in municipal heat planning. According to Dena, significantly more local authorities are now in the middle of the planning process than in the previous year. The proportion has risen by around 20 percent. At the same time, the number of municipalities in the preparatory phase has halved. This is the first time that more extensive practical experience from the start-up phase has been included in the survey.

According to the municipalities surveyed, thorough preparation pays off. The selection of a suitable service provider, early cooperation with local stakeholders such as energy suppliers and targeted public relations work right at the start of the process are crucial. In addition, early data collection and clearly defined responsibilities within the administration are crucial for a smooth process.

The head of KWW, Robert Brückmann, points out that the biggest challenges lie at the beginning of heat planning. Cooperation between the offices and companies involved, the procurement of relevant consumption and demand data and sufficient personnel capacities are key factors. The survey confirms that solid preparation simplifies the entire process, says Brückmann.

Municipal heat planning takes an average of 18 months

The analysis shows clear differences in the planning periods. On average, municipal heating planning (KWP) takes around 18 months, in large cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants just under 20 months. Small municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, on the other hand, require an average of just over 16 months. At around five months, the analysis of the current situation and potential takes up the largest part of the six defined KWP phases. The average costs are stable at EUR 3.79 per inhabitant, depending on local conditions and existing foundations.

As in previous surveys, a lack of human and financial resources remain the most frequently cited hurdles. In addition, there are legal uncertainties, for example in the interaction between the Building Energy Act and the Heat Planning Act, as well as the lack of guidelines at state level. Local authorities also emphasize the high cost of data procurement and the challenge of involving the public and specialist stakeholders appropriately. To achieve greater efficiency in the planning process, municipalities and districts are increasingly taking the lead for smaller municipalities.

New in this year's survey is the assessment of the degree of reality of the target scenarios developed. Although a majority consider the methodical derivation to be comprehensible, only 39% have compared several scenarios with each other. 44% of local authorities rate their own targets as realistic, while a third remain skeptical. According to Brückmann, the actual feasibility will only become apparent in practical implementation.

Despite unanswered questions, 77 percent of local authorities with a completed heating plan are already implementing concrete measures. The focus is on energy refurbishments and efficiency improvements in municipal buildings as well as feasibility studies on individual projects from the heat plans. At the same time, almost one in five municipalities with a completed plan rate their knowledge of heat planning as low. From the KWW's point of view, this illustrates the continued high demand for building up expertise in order to be able to make key decisions independently during the planning process.

Further information from the Competence Center for the Municipal Heat Transition on the Municipal Survey 2025 can be found on the KWW website.

Author: Fritz Wilhelm