100,000 Danish homes have scrapped their natural gas boilers and switched to another heat source since 2021. This is shown by figures from the Danish Energy Agency.
According to the agency, nine out of ten disconnections have occurred without the normal fee of 10,000 kroner. This is due to a disconnection fund, which is a financial carrot to get private households to drop natural gas.
When the scheme was launched in 2021, there were natural gas boilers in 360,000 Danish homes. This has now been reduced to 259,000 Danish homes. A development that is driven by a political agreement to phase out natural gas as heating in private homes by 2035.
- We from the Danish Energy Agency think that it is good and positive that approximately 100,000 customers have left the gas system in a relatively short time, says Unit Manager for Gas & Biogas Jane Glindvad from the Danish Energy Agency.
The figures from the Danish Energy Agency do not say anything about which heating source the 100,000 homes have switched to. But regardless of whether it is district heating, a heat pump or another solution, it is often associated with large costs.
- The fact that you are exempt from the disconnection fee is not the most significant cost when switching to another heating source. But it is an amount that supports the switch and that reduces the overall cost slightly, says Jane Glindvad.
Since the establishment of the scheme, one billion kroner has been spent on exempting natural gas-fired households from the disconnection fee.
Danish District Heating welcomes milestone
In the Danish District Heating industry organization, department head Nicolai Kipp calls it a "milestone" that 100,000 homes have said goodbye to natural gas.
- But there is still important work to do to completely remove gas from space heating and convert the remaining 259,000 private gas boilers. That work must not come to a standstill, he says in a written comment.
District heating is still being rolled out throughout the country, according to the head of the department.
But politicians need to "open the toolbox again" to ensure that existing district heating projects do not fall to the ground "due to political doubt and lack of support," he says.
According to Dansk Fjernvarme, this can be done, among other things, by introducing a stop date for gas supply in the areas designated to be covered by district heating.
The decoupling scheme, which allows for fee exemption, expires at the end of 2026. The scheme is administered by the gas distributor Evida.
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