by jbs083010 b3 — September 3, 2010—As reported by energy solutions provider Envido August 25, the registration for the U.K.’s CRC Energy Efficiency (cap-and-trade) scheme legislation is progressing slowly. Although the registration process runs to the end of September, at the end of June just 2,983 companies had made an information declaration and 522 companies had registered as CRC participants.
The Environment Agency, which is running the CRC Energy Efficiency scheme (formerly known as the Carbon Reduction Commitment), had forecast that around 20,000 companies would need to disclose their energy use and 5,000 would need to join the scheme. The number of declarers seems to be accelerating, but reportedly there is still a long way to go to reach those goals.
The deadline for the CRC registration as a participant is September 30, but the process needs to start much earlier, since companies need to allow between two and four weeks for the Environment Agency to run checks, notes Envido. In reality, the deadline is September 2 for most companies, so the Environment Agency is urging organizations to register for the CRC program now, even if their data is incomplete.
The bottom line is that organizations that do not declare their electricity use in time face a fine of £500 for each half-hourly electricity meter they fail to declare. For prospective CRC Energy Efficiency scheme participants the penalties are £5,000 plus £500 a day until they register (to a maximum of £45,000). Plus, Envido notes, there is potential reputational damage if a company is listed as non-compliant.
