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CRC FACTS


2010 CRC

The 2010 Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (2010 CRC) first emerged in a consultation document published in November 2006 and the Government subsequently announced its decision to implement the new scheme in the Energy White Paper published in May 2007. The third and final consultation, published simultaneously with a Draft Order to implement the 2010 CRC, was issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and closed on 4 June 2009. The 2010 CRC will be a compulsory tradable CO2 emissions allowance scheme for larger, non-energy-intensive organisations and will come in to force in April 2010.

Any organisation that has one or more half-hourly meter settled on the half-hourly market and that used 6,000 MWh (6,000,000 kWh/"units") during the 2008 calendar year will qualify to participate fully in the 2010 CRC. There are also reporting requirements under the 2010 CRC for those organisations that either:

  • used more than 3,000MWh in the 2008 calendar year; or
     
  • Used less than 3,000MWh but have one or more half-hourly meter settled on the half-hourly market
     

The 6,000 MWh threshold for qualification in the 2010 CRC applies to UK energy usage within a corporate group and the parent company or a nominated alternative must participate and report on behalf of the group. This means companies must identify their corporate group. In many cases this will mean identifying all subsidiaries as defined under the Companies Act 2006. However, for some organisations, determining the relevant consumption, corporate entities and emissions may require careful consideration.

Since the 2010 CRC seeks to capture only UK emissions, organisations with multi-national interests and subsidiaries need to consider which parts of the corporate group needs to participate. Landlords and tenants should also carefully consider their requirement to participate in the 2010 CRC. The Government has decided that the counterparty to an electricity supply contract will have the obligation to participate, so this could apply to a Landlord even where it leases to a third party.

The key priorities for participating organisations before the 2010 CRC commences are summarised below:

  • September 2009 - qualification packs will be sent to all addresses that have a half-hourly meter settled on the half-hourly market
     
  • April 2010 to September 2010 - all qualifying organisations must register using the online 2010 CRC registry
     
  • April 2010 to March 2011 - first year requiring CRC reporting
     
  • April 2011 to March 2012 - first full "compliance year", requiring the purchase of allowances to off-set emissions
     
  • April 2011 - sale of allowances to cover emissions of the first compliance year (April 2011 to March 2012, inclusive)
     
  • July 2011 - footprint report and annual report due; allowances to be surrendered