About CRC

CRC is designed to improve energy efficiency in large organisations. It will operate as a "cap and trade" mechanism, providing a financial incentive to reduce energy use by putting a price on carbon emissions from energy use. In CRC, organisations buy allowances equal to their annual emissions. The overall emissions reduction target is achieved by placing a "cap" on the total allowances available to each group of CRC participants. Within that overall limit, individual organisations can determine the most cost-effective way to reduce their emissions. This could be through buying extra allowances or investing in ways to decrease the number of allowances they need to buy.

All the money raised through the allowances will be recycled back to participants, according to how well they perform. The scheme features an annual performance league table that ranks participants on energy efficiency performance. Together with the financial and reputational considerations, the scheme encourages organisations to develop energy management strategies that promote a better understanding of energy usage.

The scheme is designed to tackle CO2 emissions not already covered by Climate Change Agreements and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. The scheme will cover large public and private sector organisations, who are responsible for about 10 percent of the UK's emissions. This will affect around 20,000 organisations and yours could be one of them.

Organisations are eligible for CRC if they (and their subsidiaries) have at least one half-hourly electricity meter (HHM) settled on the half-hourly market. They also qualify if their total half-hourly electricity consumption exceeded 6,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) during 2008. Initially, we estimate around 5,000 organisations will qualify, including supermarkets, water companies, banks, local authorities and all central Government Departments. Qualifying organisations will have to comply legally with the scheme or face financial and other penalties.

DECC has developed the CRC policy in partnership with the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Department of Environment Northern Ireland.

Will the CRC affect my organisation?

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) will affect large public and private sector organisations across the UK. Likely participants will include supermarkets, water companies, banks, local authorities (including state-funded schools) and all central Government Departments. Organisations will qualify as a CRC participant based on their half-hourly electricity usage.

If you are a subsidiary of an organisation, or part of a group, the group must act as one entity. Your highest parent organisation will normally be the "primary member" who must carry out administrative actions on behalf of the group. Other organisations within the group should provide information about their energy use to the primary member. If the highest parent organisation is based outside the UK, your group must nominate a UK subsidiary to represent the whole organisation.

In the scheme, energy use is the responsibility of whichever organisation is responsible for the energy supply.

Qualification

Qualification for the scheme is based on half-hourly metered electricity usage. Your organisation will qualify if during the 2008 calendar year it:

1. had at least one half-hourly electricity meter (HHM) settled on the half-hourly market across the whole organisation
2. had a total half-hourly electricity consumption over 6,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) once electricity used for transport and domestic accommodation has been excluded

Your electricity supplier will be able to confirm if you have any half-hourly meters settled on the half-hourly market. In the scheme, half-hourly meters include any:

• mandatory half-hourly meters
• voluntary half-hourly meters
• half-hourly light meters
• pseudo half-hourly meters (commonly used to measure electricity consumption of street furniture - e.g. street lights, traffic lights, etc)
• remotely read Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) meters that produce half-hourly data. These are not necessarily settled on the half-hourly market and therefore do not count towards the first qualification criterion

All organisations that meet the first criterion but consume less than 6,000MWh of half-hourly electricity will not qualify. They will however still need to submit information to the administrator at the beginning of the scheme. You can find more about this in the CRC energy efficiency scheme user guide.

Exemptions

To minimise administration, the scheme will include emissions not covered by Climate Change Agreements (CCAs) or the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). Plus, any part of an organisation with more than 25 percent of their energy use emissions covered by a CCA will be exempt from the scheme. Only the specific subsidiary with the CCA will be exempt, rather than the entire organisational group. Further details about claiming this exemption can be found in Chapter 5 of the government response to the 2009 Consultation on the draft order to implement the Carbon Reduction Commitment.

Where can I find out more about CRC?

Further information can be obtained from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) website.

The link below gives access to all documents on the DECC website relating to the Carbon Reduction Commitment.

The website also gives additional contacts if you can't find the information on the website. We have supplied these contact details below

Contacts

If you have any queries about the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, you can contact us:

by email:

CRCHELP@environment-agency.gov.uk

by post:

CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) Team
National Carbon Markets
Department of Energy and Climate Change
Area 1A
3 Whitehall Place
London
SW1A 2HH

How will I comply?

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme scheme starts in April 2010 and is divided into phases. The introductory phase runs for three years. Subsequent phases will each last seven years. This includes two preparatory years which will overlap with the previous phase. Each phase includes a number of consecutive compliance years, which run from April to March, like financial years. There are no gaps or breaks between phases or compliance years.

Before each phase starts there is:

• a qualification period when organisations must determine whether they meet the qualification criteria to take part in the scheme, or make an information disclosure to the administrator
• a registration period when organisations must register as a participant in the scheme or submit an information disclosure
• a footprint year when participants must work out their emissions responsibility under the CRC

In each compliance year, participants complete four steps:

1. At the beginning and during each compliance year, participants buy allowances based on expected energy use emissions, taking into account energy efficiency efforts planned for that year.
2. Participants monitor energy use during each scheme year and by the end of July, after the end of the scheme year, they report emissions to the administrator.
3. Participants hold or cancel allowances equal to their emissions during that year, also by the end of July.
4. Participants receive a revenue recycling payment from the Government in the October after reporting their energy use, based on their relative performance in the scheme, which will be published in a performance league table.

So our administrators can audit the information you provide, you will need to collate all records and evidence that supports the data you report in an evidence pack, and keep this up to date throughout the scheme.

What are the timescales for the introductory phase of CRC?

Timeline

This page summarises what is happening in the run up to the scheme starting in 2010, and the basic timings for the Introductory Phase.

timeline diagram (PDF - opens in new window)

2008

Qualification year

2009

• Consultation on the CRC Draft Order. The Climate Change Act 2008 contains enabling powers to introduce new trading schemes, including the CRC. The Government issued a detailed Consultation on the draft order to implement the Carbon Reduction Commitment on 12 March 2009 which closed on 4 June. The Government's response to this consultation was published on 7 October 2009.
• Identification of CRC participants. Organisations with half-hourly meters (HHMs) need to determine their electricity use for 2008 based on information provided by their suppliers. If their electricity consumption through these meters was greater than 6,000MWh during 2008, the organisation must prepare for the CRC.
• In October 2009, the Environment Agency - who will administer the CRC - will contact all UK billing addresses with settled HHMs, providing them with information on their energy consumption and details of guidance on qualification and registration.
• All organisations with an HHM settled on the half-hourly market will need to collate information on their total half-hourly electricity consumption for 2008, together with a list of HHMs, assisted by their electricity supplier, to assess whether they qualify for the scheme.

2010

• Scheme begins with a three-year introductory phase. The first compliance year (April 2010 - March 2011) is the 'Footprint Year'.
• The first six months of the Footprint Year is also the registration period. Organisations who qualify must register or make an information disclosure by 30 September 2010. A financial penalty will be imposed on organisations who fail to do this by the deadline.
• The financial year 2010-2011 is also the qualification year for the second phase of the CRC. You must ensure that you monitor your half hourly electricity consumption during this period. You can request a statement of consumption from your suppliers to help you in this task.

2011

• Second compliance year
• First sale of allowances takes place in April. Participants can buy allowances at a fixed price of £12/tCO2. Participants will only have to purchase allowances to cover their forecast emissions for 2011/12.

2012

• Third compliance year

2013

• First capped phase begins. Auctioning of carbon allowances begins.

How much do allowances cost and how do organisations buy them?

Allowances are sold by Government at the start of the annual reporting year. Participants do not have to purchase allowances for the first annual reporting year of each phase, but they will have to report their emissions.

During the introductory phase, allowances will be sold at a fixed price of £12 per tonne of CO2. Following the initial sale period, participant organisations can buy or sell allowances by trading on the secondary market. This enables organisations that have reduced their energy supplies more than they expected to sell some allowances, while those that have higher emissions than anticipated can purchase extra allowances.

What emissions are covered by CRC?

There are rules covering what emissions count towards CRC emissions that organisations must report to Government. This ensures that organisations do not have to buy allowances of activities or emissions covered by other Government policies.

Emissions for which participants do not have to purchase allowances include:

• Domestic accommodation
• Transport emission
• Emissions from activities covered by a Climate Change Agreement or the EU Emissions Trading System.
• Emissions from consumption outside the UK

Where you supply energy to another organisation or person (except your tenants) you do not count this in your CRC emissions

If you qualify for CRC, you will have to consider which of your emissions can be excluded.

How do I enter fuel consumption data?

All energy consumption should be input via the 'Carbon Data' tab with the 'My Buildings Section'.

You must first select a building from the 'My Buildings' tab before any billing data can be entered.

To add a metered or measured energy consumption, click 'Add item' (see below)

You will then be presented with the 'Add Consumption Data' screen (see below)

Select the meter reference from the drop down menu, then enter the start and end dates for the meter readings or quantity of fuel consumed.

The input type will depend on if it's a metered supply (select meter reading), or a fuel such as coal which is purchased by unit weight (select usage).

You should then enter the cost of the fuel over the time period defined by the start and end dates.

Mandatory fields are highlighted with a red asterisk; these must be filled in before you can proceed.

What is the difference between the Consultant, Portfolio Manager and Building Manager roles?

Consultant

This role has been designed for individuals who will be managing more than one portfolio. When a user is assigned the role of consultant, they will have to select the portfolio they wish to work with immediately after logging on. After this, the functionality available is identical to the portfolio manager role.

Portfolio Manager

Portfolio Managers will typically manage the whole portfolio of an organisations buildings. Once logged in, a portfolio manager will have access to all buildings entered by any user relating to that particular organisations portfolio.

Building Manager

The building manager role is designed to allow individual building managers to input data specific to their building. They do not have permission to edit data for any other buildings within the portfolio. When the building manager updates or adds information, the data is available to all users of the portfolio.

How do I use custom filters?

In addition to the filters always available via the "Review Portfolio" function, Consultants and Portfolio Managers have the option to define their own custom filters. Any filters you define will be added to the filter list in the Review Portfolio section.

An example of a custom filter could be "Building Location" with filter values of "UK, USA, Australia". The filters can be used to define any custom variable that you wish to use for managing the output data in the Portfolio Review section.

To set up custom filters, please follow the steps below:

1. Within "Manage Portfolio" > "Portfolio Setup", scroll to the bottom of the screen to the "Define Filter Categories Section.
2. Enter the title of the filter as indicated in the diagram below then click "Add".
   

   Screenshot of Custom Filter Setup - click to enlarge

3. Enter the Filter Category Values. Click "Add" for each new filter value. This could be a geographic location, a range of numbers, or a written description depending on the Filter you are trying to define. See below for example:
   

   Screenshot of Custom Filter Setup - click to enlarge

4. Once you have saved your Filter Category Values, you can start applying the filters within the Portfolio Review Section. See below for example:
   

   Screenshot of Custom Filter In Use - click to enlarge

How do I interpret the info shown in the Portfolio Review section?

The Portfolio Review section allows you to compare the performance of your buildings and assess performance against the CRC criteria.

The buildings displayed on the page will depend on the filters you have applied (see filters on left hand side of screen).

The guage at the top of the screen compares the last year of energy consumption against the 5-year average of all data entered.

The top two graphs depict the carbon emissions results, in terms of the amount of CO₂ incurred for all buildings selected (in tonnes) as well as the number of carbon allowances incurred for each building.

The lower graphs depict the energy consumption for each building. Firstly in terms of kWh, then expressed as a function of kWh per person and kWh per m2.

The tables describe the 5-year performance of all buildings selected. Looking at the 'reduction' column, any values shown in green text represent a reduction when compared to the 5 year average. Any values shown in red text represent a net increase when compared to the 5 year average. The 5-year average and year-on-year performance is given for four variables: Energy Consumption, Fuel Emissions, Cost of Fuel and Carbon Allowances.

How do I manage and export data from the reports section?

The reports section under the 'My Buildings' tab allows you to auto-generate a number of different types of report, and export this data to an excel spreadsheet.

Currently there are nine types of report that can be generated:

1. Fuel type by building
2. DEC summary
3. EPC summary
4. Building by Year
5. Fuel type by Building
6. Supply by Year
7. Readings by Year
8. Energy Usage History
9. Fuel Type by Year

To generate a report, select the relevant report type from the drop-down menu at the bottom-left of the screen:

To generate a report, select the relevant report type from the drop-down menu at the bottom-left of the screen:

You can then use the custom filters to further refine your search, and ensure that the generated report is for only the buildings you are interested in. Clicking the 'View Report' button will re-generate the report information in the main body of the page.

You can then choose to export all info displayed, or only a portion of the data, by clicking the drop-down menu at the foot of the table and selecting the number of rows you want to view.

Once you are happy with the information displayed, you can export to an excel spreadsheet by clicking the export button. This will automatically open a new excel document and paste the data from the table.

What is the source of carbon emissions and volumetric conversion data?

All carbon emissions factors (ie values of CO2/kWh) for fuel types covered by the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme are supplied by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

Because Carbon Assessor goes beyond the legislative requirements, we have included fuel types not covered by CRC, as well as giving users the kWh consumed when broken down into the consumption of individual fuel types. In order to make this possible, we have referenced additional sources of information such as government departments and CIBSE (the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers). For some infrequently used fuel types, we have had to make some assumptions where standardised values were not available.

The table below depicts all fuel types available in the Carbon Assessor tool, along with the conversion factors used and the sources of data. If you have any questions regarding the fuel types and their respective conversion factors, please email support@checkmycarbon.com

Please note that support credits must be purchased before you can receive technical support. Details are given in the support section of the live site - http://www.checkmycarbon.com/support

Red text in the table denotes information that isn't from a recognized government or CIBSE source. Blue text denotes a fuel type that does not contribute to the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, but is available for selection within Carbon Assessor (please note that fuels shown in blue text will not have any carbon emissions associated with them, in line with DECC guidance).

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