Less than 10 per cent of firms have registered for CRC

Greenwise Staff

30th June 2010

Fewer than 10 per cent of companies eligible for the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) have so far registered for the project, according to latest official figures.

Environment Agency data released this month show 447 of an anticipated 5,000 full CRC participants have signed up to date. Participants in the cap and trade scheme have until September to sign up with the Environment Agency.

The CRC came into force on April 1 and requires organisations on half-hourly metered electricity to report their annual energy use and carbon emissions. After the first registration phase of the scheme, participants will have to purchase carbon allowances to cover their emissions.

Organisations will be ranked annually by the Government in a league table of the best and worst performers and those that show least improvement will be penalised.

CRC warning

Energy firm npower, which manages registration and ongoing participation in the CRC on behalf of organisations, has issued a warning to businesses and the public sector that they risk facing financial and reputational penalties unless they act fast.

In particular it is warning larger organisations with multiple subsidiaries that have the option to 'disaggregate’ – or register them as separate participants – have only up to July 31 to do so.

"CRC participation is typically established at a group level, but being able to register companies separately could make collating data and submitting ongoing evidence packs simpler," said Dave Lewis, head of business energy services at npower.

"Bearing in mind the registrations that have been completed to date, we expect many to miss out on disaggregation, and instead be faced with managing CRC at a group level. This will bring its own challenges as data will need to be compiled and submitted for the whole group."

Lewis said the slow rate of registration so far also indicated many organisations may not yet be actively tracking their energy use in preparation for the year end report.

"The longer organisations take to track this, the more challenging the task will become," he warned.

The fine for missing the final registration deadline of September 31 is £5,000, plus an additional £500 per working day past the deadline, up to a maximum of 80 days.