You may have been fortunate, falling under the radar for all sorts of environmental legislation, to have never had to learn the acronyms CRC, ESOS, DEC, GHG. However, this next one is one you will have to learn. CCL – the Climate Change Levy is coming for you, it’s coming for everyone.
CCL has been in existence since 2001 but it is changing to accommodate the end of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) scheme. Organisations that have participated in CRC have previously carried the cost of this particular environmental levy. However, from April 2019 the same money that was raised through the CRC scheme is going to be collected through a significant increase in the Climate Change Levy raised on all non-domestic gas and electricity use.
Therefore, all organisations or businesses with a non-domestic supply of gas or electricity are going to see a 67% and 45% increase respectively from April, with further increases in subsequent years.
How might this affect your bills?
By our calculations, an average Primary School could be looking at an extra £240 a year, a 2,500m2 office building around £950 a year, and for a hospital, approximately £33,000 extra on annual fuel bills.
As you can see, CCL is not a minor impact and should not be ignored.
If you haven’t factored CCL into your future costs, now is the time to start thinking about it. Most importantly, this should focus attention on the fact that this increase in cost isn’t necessary. A reduction in your electricity and gas use through improved energy efficiency could completely offset the CCL increase and allow your organisation to operate more economically, with no financial deficit.
In addition, this change highlights the need for your bills to be validated, accurate and not over estimated. The CCL is paid on every kWh consumed, so it’s vital you check you are paying the correct amount and, for any supply that is not automatically read, ensure that regular meter readings are provided to your energy supplier.
An effective energy management regime would automatically follow cost saving “best practices”. If you need assistance in establishing an energy management policy, undertaking monitoring or identifying where you can save energy in your estate, contact us today.
Also, if you would like to learn more about ESOS Compliance, click here, or check out our ESOS Articles and blog posts.