The new Energy Efficiency Directive (EU) 2023/1791, adopted by the European Parliament and Council on 13 September, has now been published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), introducing significant changes to the regulatory framework, particularly to Regulation (EU) 2023/955 in its revised version.

The new directive will enter into force within 20 days. After this period, the Member States of the European Union will have two years to transpose most of the different elements of the directive into national law.

The publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (JOUE) marks the final stage of the legislative process initiated with the European Commission's proposal in July 2021 as part of the Objective 55 package, which was supplemented by an additional proposal as part of the REPowerEU plan in May 2022. The new directive introduces a series of measures aimed at helping to accelerate energy efficiency, including the adoption of the "prioritize energy efficiency" principle in energy and non-energy policies.

Changes

The new directive establishes a legally binding target for the European Union to reduce final energy consumption by 11,7% by 2030 (compared to the 2020 baseline scenario). This includes the obligation for each Member State to set its indicative national contribution, based on objective criteria that reflect national circumstances. If national contributions are not added to the European Union target, the Commission will apply an ambitious deficit mechanism.

Another goal is to increase annual energy savings from the current 0,8% to 1,3% (2024-2025), with a progressive increase to 1,5% (2026-2027) and 1,9% from 2028 onwards. This equates to an average of 1,49% of new annual savings for the period from 2024 to 2030.

The new directive also seeks to oblige Member States to prioritize vulnerable customers and social housing in their energy-saving measures; introduce an annual energy consumption reduction target of 1,9% for the public sector as a whole; extend the annual building renovation obligation of 3% to all levels of public administration; introduce a different, energy-consumption-based approach to equipping companies with an energy management system or conducting energy audits; introduce a new obligation to monitor the energy efficiency of data centers, with a European Union-wide database to collect and publish this data; promote local heating and cooling systems in larger municipalities and progressively increase energy efficiency in the supply of heat or cold, including in urban heating networks.