Green gas quota: what the BMWE key points mean for gas and oil heating

What the BMWE presented on 14 October

On 14 October 2026 the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs (BMWE) presented key points for a green gas and green heating oil quota. Under them, sellers of natural gas and heating oil must blend in a growing share of green fuels from 2028: one per cent in 2028, five per cent in 2030, 20 per cent in 2035, 50 per cent in 2040 and 100 per cent in 2045. The rise can be stretched if the market requires it, but the 2045 target stays fixed. The quota applies only to fuel delivered to private households; industry and commerce, transport, and electricity and district-heat generation are explicitly excluded. It covers fossil heating systems installed before 29 July 2026 — newer systems fall under the stricter “bio-staircase” of the Building Modernisation Act (GModG). Failure to meet the quota triggers a replacement payment whose amount the key points leave open; green hydrogen is counted triple at first. The government must present the actual draft law by 1 December 2026 under the GModG. How levies on fossil heating already feed through into the service charge is shown in the guide to the 2027 CO₂ price and cost allocation.

Who the quota hits — and who is explicitly spared

The bill lands with owners and landlords who heat residential buildings with gas or oil. The quota applies to the fuel sellers, but the surcharge for the green share is passed on through the fuel price and ends up in the tenants’ heating bill. Commerce, industry and district heating are exempt — a business with its own gas boiler does not carry the quota, but a block of flats with central heating does. For landlords the burden therefore comes on top of the CO₂ price and rising grid fees.

Why the quota raises heating costs before a single boiler is replaced

The key points are not a heating ban but a pricing mechanism. No one has to rip out the gas boiler; instead the gas running through it gets more expensive year after year, because a growing and costly green share has to be blended in. That works like the CO₂ price, only on top of it — and it hits precisely the existing system installed before the cut-off date, which is otherwise meant to enjoy grandfathering. “The quota raises heating costs quietly through the fuel price, without a single boiler being replaced — which makes it harder for landlords to budget than a one-off investment decision.” — Pedram Dadgar, Strategic adviser to Green Contracting GmbH.

The context belongs with it: this is still a key-points paper, not a law, and the BDEW considers the step-by-step ramp-up sensible but sees considerable need for discussion on the rules. The percentage steps, the replacement payment and the crediting of hydrogen can still shift in the legislative process up to 1 December. Anyone basing rent calculations on fixed quota costs now is working with figures that have not yet been decided.

What owners and landlords should do now

1. Check whether your own gas or oil heating was installed before 29 July 2026 — only then does the milder quota apply instead of the stricter GModG bio-staircase.
2. Roughly estimate the likely extra burden: the growing green share times the fuel price, on top of the rising CO₂ price, and factor it into medium-term heating-cost planning.
3. When a heating decision is due, bring the quota into the comparison of fossil and non-fossil heat, rather than waiting for the finished law.