Mandatory energy audit: 7-month extension

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Three weeks before the December 5, 2015 deadline, the Ministry of Ecology decided to grant a 7-month extension for the completion of the first mandatory energy audit. The large companies concerned now have until June 30, 2016, to provide proof of their completed audit or ISO 50001 certification for their energy management system. There is one condition, however: they must have initiated one of these processes by December 5, 2015.

A necessary extension to ensure the quality of the mandatory energy audit

Article 8 of Directive 2012/27/EU of October 25, 2012, on energy efficiency is the source of the requirement for amandatory energy audit for large companies. This measure was to be transposed by European Union member states before June 5, 2014, with the first audit to be completed by December 5, 2015. In France, the transposition process was completed on November 26, 2014, with the publication of Decree No. 2014-1393 of November 24, 2014, and the order of the same day defining the procedures for implementing the energy audit. Previously, Law No. 2013-619 of July 13, 2013, had established the legal basis for the system[1]. Decree No. 2013-1121 of December 4, 2013, had specified its scope and the associated penalties.

Although France was the 5^th European country to transpose the mandatory energy audit requirement [2], the final national implementation measures were adopted nearly 6 months behind the deadline set by the directive. Naturally, this delay impacted the qualification and selection procedures for audit providers by the companies involved. Consequently, as the December 5, 2015 deadline approached, auditors' workloads no longer allowed them to complete their audits and reports under proper conditions.

To avoid compromising the quality of the audits performed, the Ministry of Ecology decided to publish a statement on its website on November 16, announcing a 7-month transition period for submitting documentation related to the first energy audits[3].

The audit or ISO 50001 certification process must be initiated by December 5

According to the information published by the Ministry:

• A company that has initiated a mandatory energy audit by December 5, 2015, now has until June 30, 2016, to submit the required documents (definition of scope + summary of the energy audit report OR full audit report) to the prefect of the region where its head office is located. The criteria for what constitutes "initiating" the audit process by December 5, 2015, are not further specified. However, it can be assumed that a company must, at a minimum, have contracted with a qualified provider and planned the various stages of the audit to be eligible for the transition period.
• The Ministry of Ecology further specifies that any audit initiated after December 5, 2015, must cover at least 80% of the total energy bills paid. The company concerned will not be eligible for the reduced coverage rate of 65% provided for the first audits.
• A company that has opted to implement an energy management system according to the ISO 50001 standard, rather than conducting a mandatory energy audit, may also submit its certificate by June 30, 2016, provided it had analyzed its energy usage and consumption by December 5, 2015, which constitutes the first step of the energy review required by § 4.4.3 of the standard.

In summary, the new implementation schedule for companies is now as follows:

Regulatory energy audit: overview of the requirements

Scope

The mandatory regulatory energy audit applies to any company (identified by its SIREN number) that meets at least one of the following criteria:

• More than 250 employees
• Annual turnover exceeding 50 million euros
• Annual balance sheet total exceeding 43 million euros

Affected companies were required to provide proof of their first regulatory energy audit by June 30, 2016. Subsequently, it must be conducted every 4 years. Company activities covered by an energy management system certified as compliant with the ISO 50001 standard may be exempt from the audit. A company may be exempted from the energy audit requirement if all of its activities are covered by ISO 50001 certification.

Purpose

The audit involves analyzing the company's energy usage and consumption to identify opportunities for improving energy efficiency. The audit report must recommend energy-saving measures and prioritize them. It must distinguish between operations with a short return on investment (less than one year) and those with a longer one (between 1 and 4 years, or beyond).

Methodology

Defined at the company's discretion, the scope of the energy audit must cover at least 80% of the company's total energy bill. The coverage rate was reduced to 65% for audits carried out or initiated by December 5, 2015. It must be conducted in accordance with the NF EN 16247-1:2012 standard. This is supplemented by three specific standards for buildings, industrial processes, and transport.

The audit can be performed:

• either by an external service provider whose competence has been qualified by a COFRAC-accredited body (LNE, AFNOR Certification, I.Cert, OPQIBI)
• or by internal company personnel who meet the competence criteria defined by the decree of November 24, 2014.

In both cases, the auditor must not be directly involved in the operation or maintenance of the activity being audited. The auditor may be exempt from meeting all competence recognition criteria if the audit is conducted within the framework of an environmental management system certified as compliant with the ISO 14001 standard.

Documentation

To certify compliance with the regulatory energy audit requirement, the company must submit the following documents to the prefect of the region where its registered office is located:

• audit scope definition
• energy audit report summary (in accordance with the format defined by the decree of November 24, 2014)
• where applicable, copies of ISO 50001 and/or 14001 certificates
• the full audit report; if submitted electronically, an online filing platform will be made available to companies by March 2016.

Penalties

Failure to conduct the mandatory energy audit may result in a formal notice, which may be made public. If compliance is not achieved within the specified timeframe, this will be followed by an administrative fine of up to 2% of annual turnover (4% in the event of a repeat offense).

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[1] Articles L. 233-1 to 4 of the Energy Code

[2] Following Denmark in April 2014, the United Kingdom in June 2014, Italy in July 2014, and Romania in August 2014

[3] https://www.ecologique-solidaire.gouv.fr/

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