Brexit: What Does It Mean For ESOS?

With the EU referendum looming, there has been plenty of discussion around how leaving the EU would affect Britain’s economy. Questions have been raised about how the energy sector will be impacted if Britain votes to leave the EU, such as whether our security of supply will be put at risk, or if the cost of energy will rise as a result. Less attention has been paid to how Brexit would influence Britain’s energy policies – here we look at the implications of Brexit for ESOS.

Would Brexit mean the end of ESOS?

ESOS was established to implement Article 8 of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive: the introduction of the scheme fulfilled the requirement for businesses to conduct mandatory energy audits to identify opportunities for greater energy efficiency.

The future of ESOS in its current form may well change – the Government announced in the Budget that it plans to simplify energy reporting into one single scheme: further information should become available once the Government publishes its much anticipated consultation on the future of business energy reporting.

However, in the event of a vote to leave the European Union, it is unlikely that alone would mean the end of ESOS, primarily because it is now embodied in the UK’s own regulatory framework and would remain so until the Government choose to revise it in line with their own simplification plans.

We have created a video to explain more about how Brexit could affect ESOS and the energy sector as a whole, from the cost of energy to the impact on infrastructure investment: you can watch it below.