Gas boiler owners will be happy. Subsidies are possible, though

• According to the RIO, there is no direct effect of the EU directive, which has not yet been implemented into the national legal system.
• According to the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2024 on the energy performance of buildings, from 1 January 2025 Member States cannot provide any financial incentives for the installation of individual boilers fired with fossil fuels.
• In addition, the RIO points out that it should still be possible to provide financial incentives for the installation of hybrid heating systems involving boilers.

The Oświęcim City Hall asked the Regional Chamber of Audit about granting subsidies for the purchase and installation of gas boilers . So far, the city has been granting subsidies to co-finance the costs of replacing old and non-ecological heat sources with new ones, including gas boilers, but in connection with the adoption of Directive 2024/1275 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 April 2024 on the energy performance of buildings (the so-called Buildings Directive), doubts have arisen.

The Directive provides that from 1 January 2025, Member States shall not provide any financial incentives for the installation of individual boilers fired with fossil fuels , with the exception of boilers selected for investment before 2025.

Therefore, doubts arose regarding the continuation of granting subsidies for the purchase and installation of gas boilers under the program conducted by the Oświęcim local government.

What did RIO respond?

The Chamber stressed that, first of all, it should be remembered that EU directives require transposition (implementation) into national law and only then the relevant provisions of national law adopted as part of the implementation are applicable.

In the case of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, the deadline for full implementation has been set for 29 May 2026. Although the aforementioned Buildings Directive provides that Member States will bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary for implementation as of 1 January 2025, such provisions have not yet been adopted in Poland.

The RIO therefore found that not all the conditions had been met to establish that the directive had a direct effect.

As a result of the above, and also taking into account that the indicated directive has not yet been implemented into the national legal order , one should share the view that the above-mentioned resolution of the Oświęcim City Council may still be applied

- the Chamber explained.

In addition, the RIO points out that the analysed directive also indicates that it should still be possible to provide financial incentives for the installation of hybrid heating systems with a significant share of energy from renewable sources. Such as combinations of a gas boiler with thermal solar energy or a heat pump. The RIO therefore states that the directive does not introduce a definitive ban on providing public support aimed at co-financing the installation of boilers fired with fossil fuels.

- Since the directive allows for the coexistence of such heating systems with other systems accepted in the directive (operating as hybrid systems), it would be appropriate to propose considering an appropriate amendment to the current resolution, which is the basis for granting subsidies for the purchase and installation of gas boilers. Especially in view of the freedom to choose the form and means of achieving the directive's objectives - the Chamber assesses.