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Energy Savings Opportunities are back

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Energy Management professionals registered with the Energy Institute - and companies needing their services - are getting busy as the UK Government’s Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) gets under way again.

ESOS phase 2 is now very much official with an updated version of the Environment Agency’s ESOS guidance published to reflect the changed dates and introduce additional clarifications for the second compliance period. According to the Environment Agency, the differences for organisations between the first and second compliance periods are ‘minimal and for the most part non-technical’. The new notification system for ESOS Phase 2 is also now available

ESOS is a mandatory energy assessment and energy savings identification scheme. It applies to large undertakings and groups containing large undertakings in the UK. Organisations that qualify for ESOS must carry out ESOS assessments every 4 years. After the first compliance period and in light of Brexit, the future of ESOS was somewhat uncertain, given that the scheme is the UK Government’s implementation of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive, but the new guidance brings welcome clarity.

Organisations that met the ESOS definition of a large undertaking on the Phase 2 qualification date of 31 December 2018 now have to meet their ESOS obligations by the compliance deadline of 5 December 2019. In order to be compliant, organisations have to calculate their total energy consumption, carry out audits to identify energy savings opportunities, have their assessment reviewed by a Lead Assessor and signed off at director level, and submit an online notification of compliance to the Environment Agency. Alternative routes to comply with ESOS exist, such as achieving an ISO 50001 certification. 

The EI runs one of the biggest registers of qualified ESOS lead assessors. All our registrants are experienced professionals who hold chartered status. Under phase 1 they were responsible for carrying out 30% of the assessments undertaken, providing trusted advice and helping businesses get the most out of their energy spend. The EI’s ESOS resources and lead assessor listings can be found at www.energyinst.org/industry/esos 
 

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