With 2014 being a landmark year for the implementation of the Electricity Market Reform (EMR) we often discussed energy policy and how it impacts your business. ESOS, part of mandatory EU legislation for member states, aims to support businesses to achieve cost savings, and ultimately cost reductions through energy efficiency.
According to DECC, implementing some of the efficiencies highlighted by ESOS audits could save businesses more than £250 million a year by reducing consumption by just 0.7%. And where businesses are prepared to invest in measures with a payback period of two years or less, this figure increases to £1.6 billion a year.
At npower, we see the opportunity being far greater and are encouraging businesses to take control of their own costs. We believe that through implementing simple efficiency measures, the average business could reduce consumption by 20%. Not only because it is environmentally desirable, but also because there are sound commercial reasons for making significant energy savings. As such, we've put in place a number of measures in order to maximise energy efficiency across many of our own different sites earning us the ISO 50001 certification.
Legislation states that ESOS audits need to be completed by all large enterprises – defined as those employing over 250 staff, or with turnover of more than €50m and an annual balance sheet of more than €43m, or large groups where one UK office fulfils this criteria – by 5 December 2015, and then every four years thereafter.
With less than a year to go, we are working with business to help meet this deadline. Specifically providing support throughout the process by establishing business's eligibility, collecting data, auditing and ensuring compliance requirements are met, and then advising on how best to implement recommendations. After taking care of the short-term ESOS requirements for the first year, we can then lead customers onto ISO 50001 accreditation, exempting their current portfolio from future ESOS requirements.
Visit npower.com/ESOS to read more on ESOS and find out more about how we can support your business. You can also watch the recording of our recent ESOS: The Official Version webinar at bit.ly/ESOSIOD. Alternatively to contact a member of the team, email esos@npower.com
