Key figures at a glance:
- Stadtwerke investment volume (2026): approx. 150 million euros
- City subsidy requirement (Public Transport & Pools): 7.4 million euros
- GalaxSea investment (total): 24.4 million euros
- Energy & heating transition: 45 million euros
- Housing renovation (jenawohnen): approx. 50 million euros
Jena. The boom years, in which municipal companies almost automatically relieved the city treasury, are over—at least for now. In a joint press briefing on Wednesday, the city leadership and the management of the Stadtwerke Jena Group presented the financial roadmap for the year 2026. The message is ambivalent: while the city administration must save due to falling revenues, Stadtwerke is stepping on the gas with investments in public services.
A Paradigm Shift in Financing
For a long time, the “Querverbund” (cross-subsidization) principle in Jena worked smoothly: profits from energy supply supported loss-making sectors such as public transport or swimming pools and partly flowed into the city budget. This mechanism has changed. Finance Commissioner and Mayor Benjamin Koppe made it clear that the relationship has reversed. Today, the city budget must provide financial contributions to secure the services offered by Stadtwerke.
Specifically, this means for the year 2026: The City of Jena will likely have to contribute 7.4 million euros to finance public transport (ÖPNV) and the reconstruction of the pool facilities. This amount is already firmly planned in the budget. This is happening against the backdrop of a budget freeze imposed since the beginning of the year, which forces the city administration to prioritize strictly. “Jena is not in a special situation, but in a development that affects municipalities nationwide,” Koppe said, contextualizing the situation.
Where Will the 150 Million Euros Go?
Despite the tense framework conditions, Stadtwerke Jena is planning total investments of around 150 million euros for 2026. For the following year, 2027, as much as 165 million euros are targeted. The management, under Claudia Budich and Tobias Wolfrum, clarified that these expenditures are necessary to keep the infrastructure viable for the future. The focus is on three pillars:
- Energy and Heating Transition: With around 45 million euros, a large part of the money will flow into the conversion of the energy supply. The goal is to provide Jena with a reliable and, in the long term, climate-neutral supply.
- Housing: jenawohnen GmbH plans to invest around 50 million euros in the renovation of its properties, which directly benefits the quality of life in the city districts.
- Leisure & Pools: A flagship project remains the GalaxSea leisure pool. Over the entire renovation period, 24.4 million euros have been budgeted for its energetic conversion.
The Challenge of Transformation
Stadtwerke faces the enormous task of managing the transformation toward climate neutrality without endangering economic stability. “This requires courage, planning security, and clear priorities,” emphasized Claudia Budich. The investments are an important signal to customers and the city that security of supply remains guaranteed even in turbulent times.
For the citizens of Jena, this means that the major construction sites in the cityscape—whether in the district heating network or the modernization of apartment blocks—will continue to be part of daily life in 2026. They are the price for a modernized infrastructure in a city that must learn to readjust its public services with limited financial resources.
The presented plans show that Jena remains capable of acting despite the budget freeze, but is increasingly dependent on close cooperation between the administration and municipal subsidiaries.