TEAM's Ellen Salazar Explains Why Some Businesses Could Struggle to Meet the ESOS Deadline
Ellen Salazar, Energy Services Consultancy Team Leader at TEAM (Energy Auditing Agency Ltd) explains why some businesses could struggle to meet the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme deadline.
Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, July 22, 2015 (Newswire.com) - It’s been 12-months since the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) was introduced and by now many qualifying businesses are fully aware of the looming 5th December deadline.
ESOS applies to all organisations that employ more than 250 people or companies with both an annual turnover of circa £40 million and a balance sheet of circa £35 million.
TEAM's experienced consultants can provide full ESOS Consultancy starting from Initial Assessment to all full review of available energy data right up to completing your full ESOS Submission Report and accompanying evidence pack.
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Under the scheme, assessments of energy use on site and in transport need to be renewed every four years, while non-compliance can lead to companies being fined up to £50,000.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change introduced the scheme in 2014 to ensure UK businesses comply with the EU Energy Efficiency Directive, which requires all EU members to introduce a programme of regular energy audits for large enterprises. According to Department for Business Innovation and Skills, up to 7,000 large businesses in the UK are obligated to carry out an ESOS assessment. But at least a quarter of those businesses are yet to act.
What does the ESOS process involve?
The audit process typically takes around two to three months to complete, but the identification and compilation of the data required before audits begin can be a time-consuming task, particularly for areas of the business where data have not been collected or audited previously.
The limited number of ESOS Lead Assessors in the UK also means that many businesses could struggle to find someone with a good understanding of the organisation and an appreciation of how ESOS affects it.
There has been some talk of the December deadline being pushed back to avoid swamping the small number of Lead Assessors. But this was only talk and a recent announcement from the Department and Energy and Climate (DECC) regarding the budge announcement and ESOS, said “that the requirements for compliance are not about to change”.
What do you need to do now?
If alarm bells are now ringing, keep calm, you do still have time. And if you need help to ensure you meet the deadline, TEAM will be able to help you achieve compliance.