Friday 20 September 2013

UK firms urged to register for CRC’s second phase

Businesses are being urged to register for the second phase of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) or risk facing a huge penalty.

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme is a mandatory carbon emissions reporting and pricing programme which covers UK organisations using more than 6,000MWh of electricity every year.

STC Energy, a CRC service partner for one of the Big Six energy firms is reminding customers they could face a potential fine of up to £45,000 if they fail to complete their registration between 4th November 2013 and 31st of January 2014.

Participants in the CRC need to measure and report their electricity and gas related carbon emissions annually following a specific set of measurement rules. The scheme applies to emissions not already covered by Climate Change Agreements (CCAs) and the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and is designed to encourage large public and private sector organisations to reduce their carbon emissions through energy efficiency.

Steven Rae, Energy Bureau Service Director at STC Energy said: “We are finding that some firms who did not originally qualify under the 2010 rules are now having to join the scheme through increased settle half-hourly consumption or tweaks to the qualification rules. We are assisting all of our clients to ensure they assess their qualification consumption correctly and if they do qualify that they register in the correct timescales to avoid any penalties.”

The sectors targeted by the CRC generate more than 10% of UK carbon emissions - estimated at around 55 MtCO2. The scheme aims to reduce non-traded carbon emissions by 17 million tonnes by 2027 and supports the UK Government's objective to achieve an 80% reduction in UK carbon emissions by 2050.

Last year the UK Government claimed the simplified carbon tax could save firms around £272 million by 2030 but some in the industry said the scheme is failing to give businesses long-term policy certainty.