IES Blog

The greatest myth surrounding the CRC is that there is no need to act now. This misconception is based upon the fact that the initial scheme year is the footprint year when you monitor and report on your ‘baseline’ energy use (which started on April 1st 2010 –see my previous blog). The thinking is that by having a higher carbon footprint at the start of the scheme it will be easier to reduce emissions and move quickly to the top of the league table. However, there are two main reasons why acting now is the best course of action:

1) The design of the league table involves three metrics to determine an organisation’s position, not just their absolute carbon reductions. An Early Action metric takes into account energy saving measures put into place before the starts of the CRC, while a Growth Metric gives credit to organisations expanding in an energy efficient way. In fact the Early Action metric has a 100% weighting in the 1st year!

2) By acting now organisations can reduce energy usage and make savings on energy costs directly. These saving could even provide budget for the purchase of the initial carbon allowances in 2011, and go towards energy saving initiatives. Why wait to make reductions now and pay what will undoubtedly be a higher energy rate for more energy further down the line.

And that’s before you even look at the other benefits of performing well…

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Tags:carbon assessor, Carbon Reduction Commitment, CRC

The New CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme came into force on 1st April

The new Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme began in earnest on the 1st April! The scheme aims to achieve an annual energy reduction of 3.2m tonnes by 2020 and stimulate businesses to make their buildings more energy efficient.  It affects around 20,000 organisations – is yours one of them?

Any organisation with a half hourly settled electricity meter needs to do something.  It was the requirement for qualifying organisations to start monitoring energy usage from all qualifying sources that started on 1st April 2010.  And whilst it may be straight forward to gather retrospective data from half hourly sources, this may not always be the case for class 5-8 meters, for example, which are also considered as core sources under the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme.

Those qualifying for the CRC will also need to register while those under the threshold still need to make an information disclosure.  Both actions must be done before 30 September 2010.  However, as the process could take up to 4 weeks to complete don’t leave it until the 29th September!

A raft of recent surveys indicates just how confused and unprepared organisations are for its implementation…

A survey by energy consultancy McKinnon and Clarke found that 54 per cent of participants were uncertain whether they come under the scheme, which encompasses all bodies and businesses with half-hourly meters (HHMs) that consumed more than 6,000 MWh of electricity during 2008.  Around 5,000 of the UK’s heaviest energy users will need to participate fully, while another 15,000 odd organisations that consumed less will need to make an information disclosure. 

In addition, the survey also found that three in five companies had not factored in the financial implications of having to participate fully in the scheme.  At the lowest qualifying level, a typical organisation will pay £45,000 a year to advance purchase allowances at a rate of £12 per tonne of carbon dioxide.  In addition, they will be placed in a league table, showing their carbon emissions relative to their peers.  Companies at the bottom of the table will be penalised, with the money recycled into rewards for the most energy-efficient.

In another survey by the power supplier Npower, nearly half of companies surveyed said official advice about the new legislation had been “inadequate”.  About 49 per cent said they did not understand how to buy the necessary carbon allowances and 44 per cent said they do not know how to forecast their carbon emissions.

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Tags:Building, carbon assessor, Environment, recycle, recycling, Renewables