Post: Government seeks to standardise ESOS reporting requirements

Government seeks to standardise ESOS reporting requirements

The government is seeking views on changing the reporting requirements under the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) to increase the uptake of energy efficiency measures and firm up the link with the UK’s net zero targets. Published on 6 of July, the consultation sets out proposals for “strengthening” the scheme.

To improve the quality of audits, the government is looking to increase the standardisation of reporting requirements by adding an “ESOS Compliance Report”. It is also proposing that the ESOS summary report should include an overall energy intensity metric for the current phase (and previous phases where data is available), which could be in terms of kWh/m2 for buildings, kWh/unit output for industry and kWh/miles travelled for transport.

To increase focus on energy management and behavioural change, it is also proposing that ESOS reports include recommendations that specifically cover: data quality, energy management processes, behavioural change, zero and low-cost measures, short term investments (up to 3 year payback), and longer term investments (3-7-year payback).

Analysis of ESOS reports suggests that the consumption data recorded by smart and advanced meters is not yet routinely included in reports. It has been proposed that analysis of this data by the ESOS assessor should be included as a standard within ESOS reports where data is available.

To ensure that sites are not excluded owing to the de minimis rules (where participants may exclude up to 10% of their total energy consumption), it has been proposed that the de minimis level would be reduced to 5%. Display Energy Certificates and Green Deal Assessments are also to be removed as compliance routes for ESOS.

In addition to changes to reporting requirements, the consultation seeks views on how ESOS could be better designed to align with net zero targets. It has been proposed that the ESOS audit should include an overall assessment of carbon emissions and other greenhouse gas emissions resulting from energy use in buildings, transport and industrial processes. The assessment should also look at the impact of the business’s electricity use on emissions from the wider electricity system and any opportunities for investment, other than those related reducing overall electricity use (which is covered already within energy efficiency opportunities). In particular, the assessment should identify the potential for investment in renewable electricity, as well as the potential for load shifting of electricity use to off-peak times and for investing in smart technologies and storage solutions that facilitate this.

According to the government ESOS has already resulted in estimated annual efficiency energy savings of 1.65TWh from buildings, 1.51TWh savings for industrial processes, and 0.52TWh of fuel efficiency and associated energy bills and emissions savings. But it said there is still scope to go further.

Responses to the consultation are required by 28 September. If taken forward the government anticipates that changes would take effect from Phase 3 of the scheme, which covers 2019-2023. Businesses are required to report on ESOS Phase 3 before 5 December 2023.

Mark Davis, GridBeyond’s Managing Director UK & Ireland said:

“For businesses, ESOS should be seen as opportunity to improve the efficiency of their operations and thereby their bottom lines.

“With the journey to a net zero economy well underway, the direction that businesses can and need to do more to support the transition is welcome. At GridBeyond, we support ESOS obligated businesses with metering energy use and emissions, generating reports and finding new ways to enhance their sustainability. This can be done by enabling their participation in grid balancing services that support National Grid with the decarbonisation of the energy network, installation of onsite generation or CapEX free batteries that increase resilience and create opportunities for additional revenues from robotic trading.”

If you have any questions about the potential for your site, contact us, or to learn more about the complimenting services offered by GridBeyond’s intelligent energy platform, our Point Ai. Services brochure.

About ESOS

ESOS is a mandatory energy assessment and energy saving identification scheme for large businesses (and their corporate groups). Under the scheme, large organisations are required to assess their energy usage every 4 years and to find new ways to save energy.

Your company or organisation must comply with ESOS if:

• You have over 250 members of staff, or
• A turnover of over 50 million Euros (£44.1m) or an annual balance sheet of over 43 million Euros (£37.9m)
• You are an overseas organisation with over 250 employees in the UK
• Your company is part of a larger organisation, which falls into any of the above