ENERGY END-USE EFFICIENCY AND ENERGY SERVICES
(16261/03)
Letter from Elliot Morley MP, Minister
of State for Climate Change and Environment, Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs to the Chairman
I previously wrote on 22 December 2005[79]
to inform you of the second reading deal on the Energy End Use
Efficiency and Energy Services Directive. I am now pleased to
be able to write to you after Energy Council formally approved
the adoption of the Directive on 15 March. The Directive, as agreed
and approved, should be published in the Official Journal at the
end of April and sets out the following key provisions:
— A general energy end-use savings
target of 1% per year for 9 years, covering the period from
2008 until 2017. The overall target of 9% is to be met by the
ninth year and will include an intermediate target covering the
third year of application of the Directive. An intermediate target
will also be set by each Member State for year 3 of application.
— Member State public sectors shall
fulfil an exemplary role including a number of obligations
to contribute to reaching the overall savings target. This includes
the application of at least two requirements relating to the mandatory
use of public procurement guidelines to purchase energy-efficient
equipment, vehicles, buildings and other end uses. Alternatively,
they may choose to use energy audits and apply the resulting recommendations
or apply financial instruments such as energy performance contracting.
— Energy distributors and retail energy
sales companies will have to ensure (either directly or indirectly
through a third party) that their customers are offered competitively
priced energy efficiency improvement measures or services when
they are supplied with energy. Alternatively Member States can
establish voluntary agreements and/or other market-oriented schemes
(such as white certificates) to deliver the same ends.
— Actual time of use metering is
to be provided for all new connections and for replacement installations
subject to assessment of technical and financial feasibility.
— Accurate billing information to
be provided to all consumers to enable them to make informed choices
about their energy usage.
— A harmonised methodology for calculating
improvements in energy efficiency with indicators and benchmarking
between Member States will be developed by the Commission and
a committee composed of Member States' experts.
I believe that the Directive represents an ambitious
yet realistic set of measures to increase energy efficiency throughout
Europe and is a positive step in developing the EU's long term
energy policy. The energy saving measures proposed in the directive.
will link in to future work on the Green paper on energy efficiency
and subsequent Energy Efficiency Action Plan, that will lay a
path for a 20% reduction in energy consumption throughout the
EU by 2020.
29 March 2006
79 Correspondence with Ministers, 45th Report of
Session 2005-06, HL Paper 243, p 329. Back
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