A newsletter has recently been issued to detail ESOS Phase 3 changes, to allow participants enough time to apply the changes and produce the necessary report before the compliance deadline. Final guidance will be provided once the new ESOS regulations have been laid in Parliament.
ESOS is an energy auditing and assessment scheme introduced by the UK government, intended to encourage larger organisations to focus on being more energy efficient. It is mandatory scheme for any UK company that either employs 250 or more employees; or has an annual turnover of £44 million or more and an annual balance sheet total more than £38 million. We are now in ESOS Phase 3.
If your company qualifies, it must undertake an energy assessment and audit, submitting this by the final compliance date: 5th December 2023. The qualifying date for the ESOS Phase 3 reporting period was 31st December 2022.
Below we have summarised the changes and announcement shared in the newsletter:
- Further data will be required within the ESOS report, such as an energy intensity metric. The inclusion of the energy intensity metric begins to align ESOS with Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR). The main difference is the SECR metric relates to greenhouse gas emissions, while the ESOS energy intensity metric would relate to energy consumption.
- A change to the de minimis, will see participants reporting 95% of their Total Energy Consumption (previously 90%).
- Reports must provide greater details on how and when recommendations should be implemented.
- Participants must create an action plan or set targets, which they must report against annually. The action plan can be composed after the compliance deadline, however must be available by December 2024.
- Where an ESOS participant is part of a corporate group, the ESOS report must now be shared with subsidiaries.
A summary table outlining the required information has been provided and a report template will be provided to standardise reporting.
Notifications cannot be submitted until Phase 3 legislation has been finalised and the IT system updated to meet the reporting requirements. Further updates to come on when the system is ready.
Swan Energy helps their clients gain the most out of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme. If you would like to talk to us about how we could support your company with ESOS Phase 2 compliance, please get in touch.
