Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme.
ESOS is the UK Government created Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme. Little seems to have been mentioned about this new energy assessment but it is a legal requirement for certain organisations; initial deadlines have now passed and the reporting submission deadlines are later this year.
The ESOS assessment is an energy audit of an organisation’s total energy consumption across buildings, transport and industrial activities. The assessment is carried out every four years.
Organisations that are expected to fulfil the requirements of the legislation are those with 250 employees or more, or an annual turnover in excess of £38,937,777 (and an annual balance sheet total in excess of £33,486,489). A business must initially notify the Environment Agency that it has a requirement to undertake audit. The qualification date, i.e. the deadline for notifying the Environment Agency, is 31 December 2014.
The Environment Agency will hold and maintain the register of ESOS Assessments and the deadline for submitting the first assessment is 5 December 2015.
12 months of recent energy data is required as part of the energy audit. Energy used by the business will be assessed under three categories; building, transport and process. The organisation will be required to appoint a Lead Energy Assessor to undertake, oversee or review the energy audits and the ESOS Assessment overall. As part of the assessment, energy saving opportunities will be identified by the Lead Assessor.
A Lead Assessor must be a member of an approved professional body, registered with the Environment Agency.
The Environment Agency is able to inflict financial penalties for any organisation not meeting the requirements of ESOS. This includes both failing to submit audits but also failing to register an organisation’s requirement to comply with ESOS (which was due on 31 December 2014).
For more information, please see the Government website here and the detailed guidance document here.
Up Energy have a fully qualified ESOS Lead Energy Assessor together with energy assessors capable of providing EPCs, DECs and Green Deal Assessments. Our expertise are in building energy but we have a team of respected professionals able to assist with the transport and process elements of ESOS where necessary.
The qualification deadline has now passed, so please get in touch if you have any questions or need some advice.
Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme.
Large UK companies. The eligibility criteria are those with more than 250 employees or an annual turnover in excess of €50m (£38,937,777) and a balance sheet of €43m (£33,486,489) or more.
If your organisation is defined as a contracting authority by regulation 3 of The Public Contracts Regulations 2006 or The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2012. Those that are subject to an insolvency procedure are also exempt.
If one part of a Group incorporated in the UK meets the qualification criteria, then the whole Group should undertake an ESOS assessment.
The current qualification date is 31 December 2014. If your business met the eligibility criteria on or in the 12 months preceding that date, then ESOS applies to the business.
The ESOS report must be submitted to the Environment Agency by 5 December 2015; this is the Compliance Date.
No, the scheme runs every four years. The next qualification date to assess eligibility is 31 December 2018. Continual monitoring of energy consumption is recommended to help reduce energy use and stay prepared for the next ESOS submission.
To comply with the ESOS assessment, 100% of the energy consumption of the business across a 12 month period must be measured; 90% of that energy is then audited. Energy consumption will typically include buildings, transport and industrial processes.
The role of the Lead Assessor will vary depending on the nature of the business and what sort of energy monitoring and auditing that is currently in place. The Lead Assessor may be instructed to undertake a complete energy analysis of the business or just review the work that has been carried out to ensure it meets the standards of ESOS compliance.
ESOS is monitored by the Environment Agency.
There are different penalties depending on what the business has failed to do. Failing to undertake an energy audit could result in a fixed penalty of up to £50,000. There may then be a further daily fine of £500 until the appropriate documentation has been submitted. Names of businesses that fail to meet the requirements of ESOS will also be publicised.
The cost of the assessment will be determined by the scope and complexity of the business energy use. ESOS assessment fees for straightforward businesses with few properties and lower employee numbers will likely be much lower than those with large property portfolios, bigger transport fleets and costs and those with significant energy consuming processes.
The report is signed off by the appropriate company director(s) and the Lead Assessor. It is then submitted to the Environment Agency.
No. There is no obligation to make any changes to the business, however a good ESOS report should identify energy savings that should in turn reduce the running costs to the business.
The official ESOS compliance guidance can be found here. For help with your assessment, contact Up Energy today.
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