Technical assistance on assessing the effectiveness of the implementation of the definition of small and medium-sized enterprises for the purposes of Article 8(4) of the Energy Efficiency Directive

Abstract

This study evaluates the scope of Article 8(4) of the Energy Efficiency Directive. Companies that are not small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as defined in EU Recommendation 2003/361/EC1 are currently required to conduct an energy audit every four years. For both the companies concerned and the implementing authorities, it is difficult to determine whether a company is an SME or not. Moreover, the scope is only indirectly linked to the general objectives to reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions. The report assesses the impact of four potential alternative options for identifying the companies that are required to conduct a mandatory energy audit, including i) a simplified definition, ii) a definition based on energy consumption, iii) a mix of the simplified and energy consumption-based definitions, and iv) a nationally determined definition. For each of these options and various sub-options, the quantitative and qualitative impacts are assessed against the current definition of non-SMEs. This is the final report of a study to provide “Technical assistance on assessing the effectiveness of the implementation of the definition of small and medium-sized enterprises for the purposes of Article 8(4) of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED)” for the Directorate-General for Energy (DG ENER), conducted by CEPS in collaboration with Bureau van Dijk.