The Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme

Expert support to help you meet your obligations and benefit from the scheme

Government response to the consultation on amendments to the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme – February 2011

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) issued an interim CRC consultation in December to allow for a full consultation on the scheme to take place. The Government’s response to the consultation on amendments was recently published. They propose to amend CRC by 1st April by:

1. Extending the introductory phase, postponing the start of phase two, and subsequent phases, and aligning the treatment of the footprint years.
2. Removing the requirement for organisations who are not required to register as participants to make information disclosures.

The Government will make and lay an Amendment Order before Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly, with the Amendment order due to come into force on 1st April 2011.

There will be further discussion between Government and stakeholders in the coming months to examine the wider options for simplification of the scheme. The Consultation will be finalised this year, and DECC has put forward five priority areas for simplification:

• Sector Organisational Rules
• Supply Rules
• Qualification Criteria
• Overlap between schemes - CCA
• Allowances and Sales

It is vital that those affected by CRC continue to collect and collate data for their Annual and Footprint reports due on 29th July 2011. DECC states:

"It is essential that all participants continue to comply with the existing scheme, in full, as set out in the current legislation. The CRC remains a mandatory scheme, and the Environment Agency and other administrators continue to provide support to participants with their CRC compliance. Organisations who fail to comply may be subject to enforcement action and civil penalties. Participants should continue to fully comply with the scheme and use the introductory phase to gain experience on reporting, complying and surrendering allowances in CRC. For advice and support on compliance with the first phase of the CRC scheme participants should refer to the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme Order 2010 and Environment Agency guidance."

For full details and the latest updates please visit the DECC website

Supplier Statement Letter

In order to help organisations compile their footprint and annual reports the CRC requires that each year suppliers must, if they are asked for them, provide Participants with Supplier Statements detailing their consumption of electricity and/or gas.

To inform our customers of this requirement a supplier statement letter was sent to CRC Participants and it can be downloaded here.

Carbon Reduction Commitment

The Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme – or CRC for short – is a new government legislation to encourage businesses to reduce their carbon footprints by cutting emissions of CO2 through energy efficiency. It is set to affect around 20,000 large and medium-sized UK organisations.

While many perceive the CRC as just another bureaucratic burden, there are opportunities to use it to your advantage – to save money, stand out from your competitors and potentially be rewarded if you cut energy consumption.

To help you make the most of CRC – and ensure you meet all the mandatory obligations – npower has developed CRC Assist. This time-saving service gives you access to an expert team to help manage your participation in the scheme – from initial data gathering to submitting final reports, from help buying the necessary carbon allowances to formulating a future carbon-cutting strategy.

Watch our guide to the Carbon Reduction Commitment

What are my CRC obligations?

The CRC is a mandatory scheme introduced by the UK government to reduce the CO2 emissions of businesses. It is administered by the Environment Agency and any business that fulfils the qualifying criteria but does not take part could be fined.

The qualifying year for the introductory phase was 2008. Your organisation will have to participate fully if: during 2008 you were supplied with electricity through at least one half hourly settled electricity meter; and consumed 6,000MWh (megawatt hours) or more through all half-hourly meters (but including AMR and dynamic unmetered supply). Full participation includes calculating and submitting each year an accurate record of your CO2 emissions from all fuel sources that qualify as CRC emissions (not only electricity), and buying carbon allowances to cover those emissions. Participants must register by the end of September 2010.

Organisations with at least one half-hourly settled electricity meter, but with half-hourly consumption below the threshold, will not participate but must register and submit an information disclosure by the end of September 2010.

How can I benefit?

The CRC makes it increasingly important for your business to understand exactly how you use energy – and to have a clear plan of action to reduce consumption and cut emissions of carbon dioxide. Your performance will be rated in a CRC league table, published each year to show how participating organisations have performed in terms of reducing emissions. The top performers are financially incentivised and the bottom performers penalised.

CRC Assist has been designed to help ensure that you not only meet the mandatory reporting obligations of the CRC, but that you also make the most of the potential financial and reputational benefits.

A team of npower’s CRC Assist experts can help you manage each step of the process – from registration and collating an accurate record of your organisation’s emissions, to forecasting allowances and helping you to make the most of opportunities the scheme presents.

CRC Assist helps you:

• Understand the CRC rules and regulations. Our team will work with your organisation to consider the deadlines, penalties and your exact obligations, whether it’s just information disclosure or full participation.
• Agree objectives and plan your next steps. We will help you determine what your organisation wants to gain from the process – from basic understanding and compliance to achieving the best-possible league table position – and devise a bespoke strategy to help you get there.
• Manage the process and deliver objectives. Our dedicated team can not only help you meet all your mandatory CRC requirements, but as energy experts, can help you formulate a longer-term energy management strategy. Whether you need us to collate and manage your portfolio data for the CRC, handle your registration and reporting, help forecast future emissions, or assist with purchasing carbon allowances, we have the expertise to support you.
  

CRC Assist is the latest addition to the npower m3 portfolio, designed to help you measure, monitor and minimise your business’s energy consumption. This comprehensive package of tools and services has been designed to support more effective and innovative energy management, wherever you are in the energy management journey.

Where can I find out more?

• Call us now on 0845 070 9494* 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday to find out more about CRC Assist.
• Email us at: energyservicessales@npower.com
• View our energy management products
• Visit the DECC Website

Please note, provision of the CRC Assist Service is subject to contract.