Challenges in Energy Billing: Why the Industry is at a Turning Point
A Complex Process Becoming Even More Complicated
Heat cost billing is facing growing challenges. Three key factors are driving up complexity:
- Shortage of Skilled Workers: There are hardly any specialized training programs, and onboarding into existing billing systems often takes months.
- Increasing Legal Requirements: Past and future amendments to the Heat Cost Ordinance (German Heizkostenverordnung) and EU regulations demand new and flexible calculation models.
- Multi-Energy Systems: Heat pumps, solar thermal energy, and hybrid heating systems not only generate more data but also make cost allocation more difficult.
Many companies are struggling to cope with these challenges. Without modern solutions, they face longer times for the creation of energy billings, higher error rates, and dissatisfied customers as well as tenants.
Skilled Labor Shortage: A Bottleneck for the Entire Industry
According to a study by BDEW, thousands of skilled workers are already missing in Germany's energy sector (Source) – and the trend is rising. Deloitte predicts that by the mid-2030s (Source), between 1.5 and 5.5 million workers will be missing from the German labor market, with the energy sector being particularly affected. This also presents major challenges for heat cost billing.
Why the labor shortage particularly affects billing:
- No standardized training: There is no regulated qualification for billing specialists. Many professionals have acquired their knowledge over years – and take it with them into retirement.
- Complex, outdated systems: Existing software solutions have often evolved over decades, featuring deeply nested functions and difficult-to-understand user interfaces. Since legacy software does not focus on efficiently onboarding new users, training usually takes at least 6 months before employees can effectively contribute to billing processes.
- Manual processes lead to errors: In many companies, billing specialists must find individual solutions for complex situations – for example, when metering devices are missing or defective. Experienced experts can handle such challenges, but this knowledge is difficult to document, leading to avoidable errors.
- High dependence on a few experts: The shortage of skilled workers creates extreme dependence on long-time employees. Without them, processes can stall, or even incorrect bills may be issued.
Regulatory Requirements: Growing Pressure from New Laws
The legal requirements for heat cost billing are becoming increasingly strict. In recent years, continuous regulatory changes have been introduced – and this trend is set to continue. Companies in the billing sector must ensure they implement all legal requirements on time and in full. Examples include:
- Amendment of the Heat Cost Ordinance (2021, 2024): Since 2024, heat pumps must also be billed based on consumption for the first time. This means that billing systems must have the flexibility to integrate heat pumps into heat cost allocation. The result is increased complexity, especially in hybrid heating systems with renewable energy shares. Already in 2021, the HKVO stipulated that by the end of 2026, all buildings must be equipped with radio-based metering devices to enable automatic data collection and digital consumption data provision. However, industry estimates (Deumess Congress 2024) indicate that by mid-2024, only about half of the buildings have been equipped accordingly.
- EU Energy Efficiency Directive (2021, 2023, 2025): This directive establishes the basis for monthly consumption information (German: uVI - Unterjährige Verbrauchsinformation) for tenants at the EU level. The repeated amendments indicate that energy efficiency is becoming increasingly important.
- CO₂ Pricing through the Fuel Emissions Trading Act (BEHG, 2023): The continuous increase in CO₂ prices significantly raises the cost of fossil fuels. The highest level will be reached in 2025. This development leads to rising ancillary costs and increases the demand for transparent billing and energy-efficient alternatives.
- EU Data Act (2023): The EU Data Act aims to regulate access to and use of data. Its impact on heat cost billing remains to be seen, particularly regarding consumption data presentation, where new requirements for transparency and standardization may arise. However, specific legal adjustments are not yet foreseeable.
New requirements due to legal changes have steadily increased since 2000 – particularly intensifying since 2020.
Complex Energy Flows: Why Old Systems Are No Longer Sufficient
Modern buildings increasingly use multiple energy sources:
- Solar thermal energy combined with district heating
- Heat pumps plus peak load gas boilers
- Combined heat and power plants including self-consumption of electricity
These multi-energy systems place new demands on energy billing. While previous cost allocation schemes were simple and linear, today's energy flows must be recorded to understand a building's metering concept before deriving cost distribution. This means additional effort, requires specific expertise, and necessitates a flexible software system that can accommodate these requirements.
🔎 Example
A multi-family house with heat pump, solar thermal energy, and gas peak-load boiler
- Summer: 80% of warm water comes from solar energy
- Winter: Heat pump + grid electricity + peak load from gas
Whereas in the past, a central heating system generated heat, today, three or more systems are often used in a hybrid setup. This presents new challenges for energy billing software. While traditional systems only accounted for cost-incurring fuels, modern systems must also correctly map cost-free but quantity-dependent sources such as solar thermal energy.
Conclusion: The Industry Needs New Solutions – Now!
Heat cost billing is no longer what it was 20 years ago. Those who continue to rely on manual processes, outdated solutions, and rigid billing models risk incorrect billing and inefficient processes.
👉 The future of heat cost billing is automated, transparent, and adaptable.
📅 Book a demo now and experience how modern technology is revolutionizing the billing process!
