Energy Saving Certificate (ESC) System

In order to calculate the energy savings of your activity, the activity itself must first be analysed, in other words, it must initially be determined whether it’s singular or standardised and the corresponding calculations must be made upon this basis. The calculations can vary significantly from one activity to another, as the energy saved by replacing heat pumps, for example, isn’t the same as that saved by insulating façades. The final calculation must deliver a value expressed in KWh/year, which is the unit of measurement of energy saved in a whole year due to the energy improvement.

To view real models of how the energy savings of standardised activities are calculated, you can click on the following link and visit the catalogue of files on standardised activities published by the MITECO, which explains the calculation to be carried out:

BOE-A-2023-16940 Order TED/845/2023 of 18 July approving the catalogue of standardised energy efficiency measures.

Generally speaking, the following requirements must be met for an activity to qualify for the generation of ESC

• It mustn’t have been launched before 26 January 2023
• It must be executed in Spain
• It must have generated savings with respect to the initial situation (new installations are generally not included, they are always replacements)
• The activity mustn’t have undergone any change of use during its execution

However, even if they meet all these requirements, the activities must be individually examined to assess whether there are any particular constraints that may limit their options of obtaining an ESC.

The price of the energy savings to be charged by the initial owner will vary, depending on several factors:

• Market supply and demand
• The sector of the activity
• The type of activity (singular or standardised)

The prices are determined by kWh/year or MWh/year (=1,000 kWh/year). Moreover, the prices are not fixed, given that, as mentioned above, they will increase or decrease, depending on the supply and demand.

Yes, if you intend to carry out an energy efficiency activity liable to generate final energy savings.

In this case, you may be regarded as an Energy Savings Owner, in accordance with the provisions of article 12.1 of Royal Decree 36/2023 of 24 January establishing an Energy Saving Certificate system.

The above energy savings may be transferred to a third party by means of the signing of a private covenant or agreement or directly to an RP or DP by means of the signing of an ESC Agreement (Royal Decree 36/2023 of 24 January, article 12.1; Order TED/815/2023 of 18 July, article 11).

In this case, you may be regarded as an Owner of Energy Savings, in accordance with the provisions of article 12.1 of Royal Decree 36/2023 of 24 January, establishing an Energy Saving Certificate system.

The above energy savings may be transferred to a third party by means of the signing of a private covenant or agreement or directly to an RP or DP by means of the signing of an ESC Agreement (Royal Decree 36/2023 of 24 January, article 12.1; Order TED/815/2023 of 18 July, article 11).

The body or entity responsible for energy efficiency in the Autonomous Community in which the activity generating the energy savings has been carried out (regional manager).

To do so, the reporting or delegated party must submit an application for the issuance of an ESC to the regional manager, together with a file that includes the verifier’s Favourable Opinion and report (Royal Decree 36/2023 of 24 January, article 13).

The ESC agreement is an agreement signed by the reporting or delegated party and the owner of the energy savings, whereby the latter assigns the energy savings to the former in exchange for a consideration, thus guaranteeing the incentive effect.

Article 11.2 of Order TED/815/2023 of 18 July establishes the minimum content of this agreement.