Consultation by DECC on Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme

4th September 2013

The EAUC is a Member-led organisation. We represent you, and ensure that your views on topical issues are conveyed to the rest of the sector and to the Government. One important way we can do this is by responding to consultations from the Government and other organisations.

What is this consultation about?

This consultation document seeks views on the Government’s approach to implementing Article 8 of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive, which was agreed by Member States on 25 October 2012 and came into force on 14 November 2012.

Article 8 of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive requires all Member States to introduce a programme of regular energy audits for ‘large enterprises’. Audits must be undertaken by 5 December 2015, and then at least every four years from the date of the previous audit. The ‘Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme’ (ESOS) is the Government’s proposed approach to implementing this requirement. Under the scheme, approved assessors will carry out Article 8 compliant ESOS assessments to identify energy saving recommendations. However, there is a question over whether this would include universities in their capacity as 'public bodies'.

Key questions for EAUC Members

1. Should universities be included in the scheme as 'public bodies' given the nature of their funding?
2. Are the statistics already reported by universities to HEFCE sufficient to meet Article 8?

Please email your responses in the consultation response form (as an attachment) to info@eauc.org.uk by Friday 20 September. We will make the final response available on our website and via eNews when it has been submitted.

The EAUC is grateful to Gavin Hodgson from Oxford Brookes University for kindly agreeing to lead on this EAUC consultation response.