CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme Update

By Andrew Schafer, Director of Sustainability Resource Planning (SRP) for EMEA
March 26th, 2010

UK Press Reports CRC Net Potentially Much Wider Than Anticipated

The Financial Times in the UK reported on 5th March 2010 that the CRC scheme could capture six times more participants than originally publicised. Following this report, we’ve been in contact with the Environment Agency, who’ve confirmed that they still believe their original estimates of 5000 full scheme participants is correct, with a further 15,000 organisations required to make a lighter touch Information Disclosure.

Important Change in Interpretation of AMR Early Action Metric Calculation

The extent of voluntary Automated Meter Reading (AMR) installation is an important element of the Early Action metric for the CRC scheme. AMR coverage accounts for 50% of the total Early Action score and hence heavily impacts performance in the first league table (to be published in October 2011), which is fully determined by Early Action performance in the first year of the scheme.

The original basis for calculating the extent of voluntary AMR coverage, was the percentage of first year (1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011) CRC electricity and gas consumption, excluding mandatory half hourly meters, for which AMR had been voluntarily installed. The interpretation originally communicated by the government implied that all first year consumption under those voluntary AMR meters was included as long as the meter was installed by 31 March 2011 regardless of when in the year that meter was installed.

The Environment Agency has now indicated that its interpretation of the legislation will differ from that stated above. The extent of voluntarily installed AMR coverage will now be based on the percentage of CRC related electricity and gas supplies (excluding mandatory half hourly meters) covered by voluntarily AMR in the 2010/11 reporting year.

This is a significant change. It means that the sooner AMR meters are installed after 1 April 2010, the better an organisation will perform under the Early Action metric. This will come as a shock to organisations that had planned to implement AMR toward the end of 2010 and in early 2011 and had expected to achieve a good league table performance as a result of these actions.

VERISAE PUBLISHES NEW CRC Performance Management WHITE PAPER

The 1 April start date for the UK Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) is now upon us. It heralds the start of a scheme that is unique in many respects and brings a new set of requirements that many of the estimated 5000 full participants have not previously faced. Whilst initial focus may be on compliance and avoidance of penalties, it is organisations that look beyond compliance and proactively drive down energy consumption and related emissions that will enjoy bottom line savings.

This is an extract from a new CRC paper from Verisae : Compliance and Beyond: Managing Your CRC Performance It looks at the important role that data and management information systems play in not only delivering compliance, but in driving energy efficiency, bottom line savings and reputational gain.

Access Andrew's White Paper on Managing CRC Performance

The author, Andrew Schafer, is Verisae’s director of Sustainability Resource Planning (SRPTM) in EMEA. He is an experienced carbon management consultant, a qualified chartered accountant, and a recognised expert on the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme.

About Verisae's CRC Scheme Solutions

Verisae’s tailored CRC solutions apply a CRC “lens” to the organisation, delivering comprehensive reporting, forecasting and analytics to optimise CRC performance. The CRC “Lite” solution enables CRC compliant reporting, allowance tracking, evidence pack collation for audit and verification purposes and robust energy and emissions management consistent with the CRC scope.

Verisae’s “Advanced” solution includes additional features such as statistical modeling of potential league table performance, advanced assessment of reduction projects, analysis of recycling payment scenarios and detailed cash flow modeling of overall scheme impacts.

Delivered as integrated elements of Verisae’s web hosted SRP platform, these solutions manage energy consumption and emissions across the breadth of the organisation and down to the individual asset level where required. Through real-time reporting, innovative dashboards and the highlighting of exceptions, powerful information enables corrective action to be taken and efficiencies to be achieved.

Deployment of Verisae’s tailored CRC solutions not only supports full compliance, but helps drive bottom line cost savings whilst achieving the financial and reputational benefits of improved league table performance.

About Verisae

Verisae helps measure, manage and reduce equipment and energy costs including the related business and environmental impacts of carbon emissions. The Sustainability Resource Planning (“SRP”) software platform improves operational efficiency, protects brand integrity and helps ensure regulatory compliance for distributed enterprises across many industries. Verisae delivers a broad range of sustainability solutions to dozens of clients globally with thousands of daily users including an extended network of third-party suppliers. Verisae’s integrated sustainability platform actively tracks millions of assets across thousands of sites worldwide.

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