Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) deadline extended but pressure still on

The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) deadline has just been extended by a month but the pressure is on businesses to comply.

The ESOS scheme applies to around 10,000 larger companies in the UK and requires them to carry out comprehensive energy audits or face heavy fines.

The Environment Agency, which administers ESOS, announced a small deadline reprieve – very welcome news for the vast majority of business affected. However, this gives no wriggle room for complacency.

For one count, it appeared that only 375 companies had complied, which works out at around 3% of the total required by law to do so. Not too surprising, then, that the Environment Agency extended the deadline for that time by a month to January 29.

ESOS compliance

Despite deadline extensions, our advice is to move ahead as quickly as possible with your energy efficiency audit. You should also make sure you work with a trusted expert to ensure you meet the ESOS requirements and avoid the hefty fines.

The biggest issue facing affected companies is that there is a shortage of approved ESOS Lead Assessors that are required by the scheme. This is why it is so important so secure yours as soon as you can to avoid getting caught out and missing the deadlines.

At SMCC, we guide our clients through the ESOS maze and make sure that compliance is achieved. We will carry out a full audit for your business as well as pinpointing where energy savings can be made, such as by installing electric vehicle charging systems or switching to water-efficient toilets.

The ESOS process is complex and not quickly achieved. Failure to comply could trigger an immediate fine of £50,000 with a further penalty of £800 a day capped at 80 days. Your company must comply if you employ more than 250 people, or has an annual turnover exceeding €50 million and a balance sheet of €43 million or more.

Call us and speak to one of our ESOS team on 0333 123 5464.

Read more about our ESOS services here.

Deadline extension

The agency is bound by the EU Energy Efficiency Directive to push forward with the ESOS compliance process. The deadline for 2019 is December 5th, and companies should be moving forward to complete the required steps. By this date, you will have had to measure your total energy consumption, conducted an energy audit, and reported your compliance to your national scheme administrator.

The government believes that ESOS will bring around £1.9 billion in benefits to businesses over the next 15 years. While you will have to engage and cover costs of Lead Assessors for the energy audit, there is no obligation to implement any of the efficiency measures identified.

But we have seen the benefits of energy audits, with customers of our project management services saving millions of pounds and making huge reductions in their carbon emissions. The ESOS scheme helps bring focus to this and make sure you reap the benefits of energy efficiency for years to come.