Energy group slates Environment Agency’s CRC complexity

Only 1,229 organisations out of a probable 4,000 have so far registered and, with less than 50 days to go to the 30 September 2010 deadline, M&C (formerly McKinnon and Clarke) is warning that many UK businesses are still unaware of their obligations and are in danger of failing to register in time. Says M&C director Chris Davenport: "The UK Energy and Climate Change Minister, Greg Barker, has admitted that the complexity of the scheme may have deterred some organisations [from] registering. There is simply no 'may' about it. M&C Energy Group, which represents businesses consuming £4bn of energy, has seen first hand how this legislation is leaving businesses cold." And he adds: "The simple fact of the matter is that many organisations don't know whether CRC applies to them and therefore run the risk of missing the deadline and incurring significant fines. Additionally, many will not have established the full extent of their organisational structure – a requirement necessary for compliance with the scheme, as set out by the regulations – and are therefore at risk of failing to collect the necessary energy data in time." Davenport believes that the complex nature of the scheme is to largely to blame – meaning that "an organisation cannot predict with accuracy where they will be in the league table of all participating organisations". That matters, he asserts, because it "makes investment criteria for capital to spend on efficiency improvements, as well as budgeting for the cost of the scheme, extremely difficult". M&C Energy is concerned that some organisations are now at a disadvantage, even those which have historically made strides to reduce energy consumption.