Germany’s large cities set to meet June 2026 heat-plan deadline, smaller towns show strong progress
Large cities like Magdeburg and Halle are poised to submit municipal heating plans by end of June, while 80% of medium-sized towns are already in progress.
Deadlines and progress
All 80 German cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants are on course to complete their municipal heat plans by the legal deadline at the end of June 2026. The head of the Kompetenzzentrum Kommunale Wärmewende (KWW) in Halle, Robert Brückmann, described the prospect as a breakthrough.
Smaller communities have until mid-2028 to submit their plans. Around 80% of medium-sized towns are already actively working on or have finished their plans, Brückmann said, while over half of small municipalities with fewer than 10,000 residents are likewise in the process or done.That is huge news.
Saxony-Anhalt at the front
Magdeburg’s municipal heat plan has been ready since April and the city council was expected to give its final vote in mid-June. Halle has also been developing its plan in recent months, including public consultations. In Wittenberg, city officials and municipal utilities will shortly begin talks on how to involve housing associations and the public in the planning. The state illustrates the broader trend: even early-adopter regions such as Baden-Württemberg showed the way, but now large and small municipalities across the country are moving rapidly.
Energy crises spur action
The drive to complete heating plans is fueled by the prospect of local economic value creation and the memory of two energy crises in five years.
By 2045, heating with natural gas or oil is to be eliminated entirely. The heat plans will be a central tool to achieve that.The municipalities have realised that we don’t just have to protect a distant climate, but that we have to act here and today. They see what can happen if they do nothing.
What comes next
Once all municipalities have finished, Brückmann expects around 7,000 heat plans nationwide because many will cooperate and prepare joint documents. Some obstacles remain, and not everywhere is the process running smoothly. Still, the general momentum is strong.
- National heat-plan law comes into effect
- Magdeburg completes its municipal heating plan
- Deadline for large cities (population >100,000)
- Deadline for small and medium-sized municipalities
- Target year for eliminating gas and oil from heating
