Blog Article

Energy consultancy warns organisations must be aware of metering regulations

Date: 18th April 2017 | By: admin

An energy and environmental management consultancy is warning organisations to get informed when it comes to metering regulations to ensure they are not caught out if sanctions should come into force.

Swansea-based EFT Consult, a specialist in energy management, power and indoor environmental quality, claims a lack of awareness about the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 has meant many organisations are not compliant with the requirements set out by these UK-wide regulations.

The regulations implement a number of the requirements of the European Union’s (EU) 2012 Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) with respect to the supply of distributed heat, cooling and hot water, and apply to anyone who is a 'heat supplier'. A heat supplier is defined as a person who supplies and charges for the supply of heating, cooling or hot water through a district heat network (DHN) or a communal heating (CH) system.

The aim of the regulations is to enable users of heating, cooling and hot water supplies to be aware of the amount they are consuming and subsequently be incentivised to lower that consumption, thus helping to promote energy efficiency.

Yet confusion exists around the subject, leaving many organisations, landlords and property owners unclear as to what they need to do to ensure they are compliant. Amended regulations are expected in coming months following a public consultation by the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which will assess the cost effectiveness of metering.

EFT Consult specialises in energy management for all types of organisations across the public and private sectors. The company offers a holistic approach that takes into account economic, environmental health and social wellbeing principles to enable organisations to be self-sustainable whilst saving money.

Chris Jenkins, director of EFT Consult, commented:

“It is clear from our experiences that many organisations do not understand or aren’t even aware of obligations surrounding the metering of heating, hot water, cooling and billing. These rules should be of great concern for landlords in particular, who supply such amenities to multiple buildings via a district heating network or to tenants in a multi-let property via a communal heating network.

“We are able to assist those who need to ensure they are up to date with the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 and help them to understand what is required of them as amended regulations come into place.”

As part of its operation, EFT Consult promotes the virtues of the circular economy, whereby materials and resources are used for as long as possible and then recovered or regenerated at the end of their life. In the context of energy management, this means adopting greener technologies, storing energy, minimising energy waste, recycling energy where possible and ensuring all aspects of a business are as efficient as possible.

Adopting this approach can also lead to much wider and very tangible benefits for companies. These include economic gains, usually through cheaper bills and the greater efficiency of staff; environmental health, thanks to better lighting and air quality; and social wellbeing.