Did you know that companies over a certain size have until 5th December 2015 to comply with the new EU legislation that requires them to have energy audits?

“Why should you worry about it?”

According to the ESOS website, from a survey conducted they discovered that the majority of businesses say they haven’t even started the process. They also say there are only 400-500 approved lead assessors that are able to undertake the energy audits. As an audit can typically take 2-3 months, it won’t be long before the demand for their services overtakes the supply, which means fees for this service could soar as a result, so it’s time to get this sorted now.

“What is ESOS all about and do you need to do something?”

ESOS (Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme) is a new legal requirement, which requires member states including the UK to introduce a mandatory programme of energy audits for companies over a certain size.

You will need to comply if:

  • Your turnover is in excess of 50 million euro (£38,937,777) and annual balance sheet total in excess of 43 million euro (£33,486,489) or
  • you have more than 250 employees or
  • your organisation is part of a corporate group that fits either of the above two criteria

If you fall into one or more of the above criteria, you need to undertake an audit every 4 years that shows the amount of energy used per employee. The first phase deadline to have carried out the audit and of notified your regulator (e.g. in England it is the Environment Agency) is 5th December 2015.

“What happens during the audit and how much will it cost?”

The auditor (lead assessor) will review your energy usage and undertake a site survey for your buildings. The cost can be anything from £5,000 to £50,000 depending on the complexity. The Government has estimated that the energy cost savings identified during the audit, will be 13.5 times greater than the audit cost. Whether these types of cost saving results can be achieved or not is questionable at this stage, but hopefully at the very least forcing companies to do ESOS will make them focus on energy management, which in turn will highlight where and when energy and money might be able to be saved.

“Can we perform the audit ourselves?”

This can be done to meet minimal compliance but it is well worth hiring a specialist to make sure it’s done correctly. It could take a member of your team up to a year to understand ESOS compliance and to perform the audit – can you spare someone for that long? The person must also be a member of an approved register (which can be applied for).

There is detailed ESOS guidance on the Government website at http://www.gov.uk/energy-savings-opportunity-scheme-esos or contact us to find out if you qualify and we can help to make the necessary arrangements for you.

Here are some points to remember:

  1. It’s got to be done (if ESOS applies to you)!
  2. You will not be caught in the bottleneck of those companies leaving their audit arrangements to the last minute – when approved lead assessors will be in high demand (and their fees could be higher as a result).
  3. The sooner you implement the energy-saving recommendations from the audit, the sooner you will start saving energy costs.

Get in touch with us to find out what you need to do next and how we can help.