Energy policy has rarely been as much in the spotlight as it was during the last legislative period. This was due to significant changes in the German energy system, such as the shift in gas supply from Russian pipelines to LNG, the shutdown of the last German nuclear power plants, and the associated sharp rise in electricity prices for industry. Although prices have significantly eased again, energy costs in Germany continue to be a major disadvantage in terms of location competitiveness.

On the other hand, there are new record numbers for the expansion of wind and solar capacity. Nearly 60% of German electricity generation now comes from renewable energies, whose installed capacity increased by another 12% last year alone. The boom in photovoltaic expansion continues, and in 2024 around 2,400 wind turbines also received approval, the highest number ever granted. There has also been a notable acceleration in the expansion of power grids: the Federal Network Agency approved around 1,400 kilometres of new lines in 2024, twice as much as the previous year. The future federal government will benefit from this progress.

Despite these developments, there seems to be a consensus amongst all the parties that could realistically participate in government coalition formation after the federal election: The energy transition needs to be realigned in the coming years. Specifically, it needs to be made more efficient and cost-effective. This includes a more flexible management of renewables in the system, and a more market-oriented redesign of the remuneration for solar and wind power. It also involves digitisation (such as smart metres) and the reform of grid fees. Alongside the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy and the construction of new hydrogen-capable gas power plants that ensure supply security during periods of low wind and sunlight, the efficiency and cost question will be one of the top three priorities in future energy policy.

The conservatives (CDU/CSU), who are expected to lead the future governing coalition, address the topic in great detail in their election campaign programme. In November, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group presented its own „new energy agenda“, which tries to distinguish itself from the policy of Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). It includes reversing the Heating Law of the former coalition, and even considering the option of nuclear power. They want to promote research into fourth- and fifth-generation nuclear energy, small modular reactors, and fusion power plants. The agenda also includes examining whether the recently shut-down nuclear reactors can be restarted.

In the energy sector itself, such demands are often dismissed as election rhetoric. However, similar formulations can also be found in the FDP's election programme, which also supports new-generation reactors and wants to „free“ atomic power laws from „ideological baggage.“

The CDU/CSU fundamentally wants a „cost revolution towards more efficiency“, without which they believe the energy transition will fail. For them, this means more market and less state, for example through quotas for „green gas“ or „green heating oil“, or expanding carbon pricing into a central tool for energy and climate policy. The strategy for new backup power plants should be „pragmatic“, and a capacity market should be implemented in a „technology-neutral“ way. While the conservative parties do not provide details on this, it does address the demands of power plant builders who had criticised Habeck's previous proposals as too bureaucratic and investment-unfriendly.

The CDU/CSU has not specified how the announced regulation of grid fees – which is also included in the programmes of all other parties – will look or be financed. The conservatives aim to reduce the costs of expanding the electricity grid by giving priority to overhead lines over the significantly more expensive underground cabling. In this regard, the CDU/CSU is aligned with both the FDP and the Greens. There is also broad agreement on the demand to exempt electricity prices from taxes and levies. The SPD, Greens, and FDP further call for reducing the electricity tax to the European minimum level.

However, questions remain regarding the necessary financing for the budget. This is also the case for the SPD, which intends to cap grid fees for transmission networks at 3 cents per kilowatt-hour, and provide more energy-intensive companies with reduced grid fees and electricity price compensation. Otherwise, energy policy plays a minor role in the SPD election program.

The Greens demand the termination of domestic gas extraction in Germany – in contrast to the FDP, which wants to expand it. The Green party also remains firm on the 2030 coal exit. The CDU/CSU says that it also stands by the coal compromise, but insists that power plants will only be shut down once backup capacity is already online.