The UK government established the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) to implement the EU Energy Efficiency Directive. The scheme is mandatory for all UK organisations with,

  • at least 250 employees OR
  • an annual turnover excess of 50 million euro and an annual balance sheet in excess of 43 million euro.

These criteria are based on the status of a company at 31st December 2014.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has an almost identical scheme named The Energy Auditing Scheme.

Requirements of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme & Energy Auditing Scheme

To comply with Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme or Energy Auditing Scheme requirements, qualifying companies must complete an ESOS/Energy Auditing Scheme assessment every four years.
In the case of ESOS, the Environment Agency must be notified upon completion of the assessment. In Ireland not all reports will need to be submitted to SEAI.

The assessment takes the form of an audit on the energy used by buildings, industrial processes and transport to identify cost-effective energy saving measures.
The first assessment is due by 5th December 2015, the second by 5th December 2019 and so on.

Included within this audit is the requirement to:

  • Calculate total energy consumption of buildings, industrial processes and transport.
  • Identify areas of significant energy consumption that account for at least 90% of the total energy use.
  • Analyse the energy consumption and energy efficiency.
  • Identify energy saving opportunities.
  • Report findings to the Environment Agency or SEAI (if required).

The audit must be based on 12 months’ of verifiable data taken over a continuous period. Where less than 12 months data is available, this must be noted & justified within the ESOS/EAS submission.
Those whose organisations are fully covered by ISO50001 may not need to complete an assessment for the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) or the Energy Auditing Scheme.

In Ireland the assessment may be completed by a suitably qualified internal auditor but in order to sign off on the report, they must be a Registered Energy Auditor listed on the SEAI Energy Auditing Scheme Register.

The installation of an AtlasEVO Energy Management & Monitoring System will greatly simplify the process of gathering evidence for your Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme submission.
Through sub-metering and analysis of collected data, the energy consumption of your buildings and industrial processes can be recorded, analysed and areas for efficiency improvements identified.

For more information on the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) & the Energy Auditing Scheme please see the UK Government, Carbon Trust & SEAI websites;
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energy-savings-opportunity-scheme-esos

https://www.carbontrust.com/…/energy-savings-opportunity-scheme-esos

https://www.seai.ie/energy-in-business/energy-auditing/

Update – Jan 2016: The first deadline for ESOS submissions has now passed. ESOS qualifying UK organisations that did not submit their their assessment must inform The Environment Agency and submit the assessment by 29th Jan 2016 to avoid enforcement action.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energy-savings-opportunity-scheme-esos#not-compliant