Source: https://www.vg.hu/vilaggazdasag-magyar-gazdasag/2024/12/energiahatekonysag-klimacel-megtakaritas

Alarm bell: the energy savings market has collapsed

The climate goals targeted by Hungary will not be met if the Parliament adopts the planned amendment to the Energy Efficiency Act in its current form, indicate the large domestic logistics organizations. The 2030 energy saving targets have already been met on paper, but only on paper, so nothing obliges those affected to further improve their energy efficiency. Savings expectations should be tightened.

Time is running out: the National Assembly will vote on the amendment of the 2015 Energy Efficiency Act on Tuesday. It is not known whether the amendment will be adopted unchanged or whether it will take into account the concerns of large domestic logistics organizations. The organizations fear that without tightening the obligation in the law, Hungary will not meet its climate goals for 2030.

The energy savings market has collapsed.

In their letter, they warn that if the amendment is adopted in December without revision, not only will it be impossible to shift trucks to rail, but also many other energy efficiency or climate-friendly measures affecting businesses and the public, such as:

• heating and lighting upgrades,
• the ceiling insulation,
• window and door replacements,
• vehicle fleet replacements as well.

According to their concerns conveyed to Világgazdaság, the energy efficiency obligation system (EKR) and the sales system of certified energy savings (HEM) generated by it have already collapsed. Therefore

• the National Transport Industry Association of Private Entrepreneurs (NiT Hungary),
• the Hungarian Road Transporters Association (MKFE),
• the Hungarian Railway Association (Hungrail) and
• the Association of Hungarian Logistics Service Centers (MLSZKSZ)

asks the Parliament to

Do not accept the amendment to the 2015 Energy Efficiency Act in its current form.

The legislation passed ten years ago stipulated that, in order to protect the climate, Hungary's final energy consumption should not exceed the 2005 level by 2030. This would require a reduction in domestic energy consumption by approximately 7 petajoules.

To achieve this goal, natural gas or electricity traders and universal service providers, as well as fuel users, must reduce their own energy consumption. They can do this by accounting for energy savings certified in the ECR, for example after the aforementioned thermal insulation, heating and lighting modernization, machine replacements or even the rail transport of truck semi-trailers.

Apparently everything is fine in terms of energy efficiency

However, by December this year, the EKR system had already accounted for enough certified energy savings to cover the entire energy savings requirement until 2030. This means that companies obligated to save energy already have the amount of certified energy savings they should have achieved by 2030. Therefore, from now on, these obligated companies will no longer obtain certified energy savings in the EKR system until 2030.

In reality, however, the climate goals are not being met because among the certified energy savings, there are also short-lived ones – typically activities that promote attitude formation – that do not count towards Hungary's EU and domestic energy savings commitments.

This only includes permanent, certified energy savings, such as insulation, heating upgrades, and the replacement of truck fleets with more modern ones.

There is a solution that doesn't involve a price increase

Logistics professional organizations therefore recommend increasing the ECR obligation amount from the current 0.5 percent to 1.1 percent, so that there is a market for certified energy savings again, i.e. it becomes worthwhile to finance energy efficiency investments again. In addition, the proportion of short-lived certified energy savings in the ECR should be reduced in favor of long-term energy savings.

Although increasing the obligation quantity would increase the price of electricity and natural gas per kilowatt on the free market by one forint - this would not affect residential consumers due to the reduction in utility bills - at the same time, with a 30-40 percent reduction in energy prices from 2024 to 2025, this would not mean an actual price increase for companies.

Both the population and the national economy benefit from intermodal transportation

The professional organizations also recommend that the measure supporting the transition to intermodal transport – shifting goods transported by truck to rail – be transferred to the five-year, permanent energy savings package. This would allow another package of measures to count towards fulfilling EU and national climate protection commitments.

Supporting intermodal transport through the ECR brings significant national economic benefits: Annually

• tens of thousands of trucks could reduce traffic on overcrowded highways,
• reduce carbon dioxide emissions by tens of thousands of tons,
• The turnover of domestic transshipment terminals would increase significantly, generating tax revenue and employment that is currently being generated at Austrian terminals.
• The competitiveness of Hungarian road hauliers would improve significantly,
• new market opportunities are opening up.

Since intermodal transport can only be accounted for in the EKR by road hauliers with a Hungarian tax number and vehicle fleet, the measure helps the domestic economy. Moreover, it does not require financial support from either the Hungarian state or the EU.

The number of member companies of the signatory organizations and the national economic volume they represent based on sales revenue:

• NiT Hungary: 4900 members, more than 1960 billion forints
• MKFE: 2,500 members, more than 1,600 billion forints
• MLSZKSZ: 93 members, more than 1,200 billion forints
• Hungrail: 39 members, more than 4,400 billion forints.