CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme Glossary

Administrator
The Environment Agency (EA), Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland are appointed as the joint scheme Administrators (referred to as the Chief Inspector in Northern Ireland). Basic administrative functions will be carried out by the EA for the whole of the UK and certain functions must be performed by them, such as operating the registry and maintaining accounts. Scheme regulation will be carried out by the relevant body in each part of the UK and include such functions as carrying out audits on participants and taking enforcement action against any participant in their jurisdiction (in the case of organisational groups this will be determined by the location of the Primary Member).

Allowance
An allowance is purchased from Government and represents the right to emit one tCO2 by a participant. These can also be bought and sold by traders.

Annual report
The report that each participant must provide via the online registry system by the last working day in July each year, detailing their emissions for the previous financial year.

Annual reporting year
In the first phase of the CRC, an annual reporting year applies to every year of the phase. For second and subsequent phases of the scheme, it applies to the second year and all subsequent years of a particular phase only.

Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) meter
Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) meters have been developed for gas and electricity that is not subject to HHMs so that consumers can access data on supplies. These meters provide consumers with access to their energy supply data. There is a wide range of AMR equipment available, however, CRC will only capture AMR meters which can be read remotely. A meter will be defined as an AMR meter for gas or electric, under CRC if it meets the following six criteria:

- For electricity, the meter is capable of capturing supply data on at least a half hourly basis
- For gas, the meter (together with an ancillary device), is capable of capturing supply data on at least an hourly basis
- The meter is the main fiscal meter and not a sub-metering device
- The meter has been read remotely
- The supply data is made available to the customer, and
- These meters are not settled on the half-hourly market.

Organisations within the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme can significantly increase their League Table ranking during the early years of the scheme by voluntarily installing Automatic Metering (AMR) on non-mandatorily half-hour metered electricity and gas emissions. All qualifying AMR need to be installed by 30th March 2011.

Capped phase
A capped phase is a phase in CRC which is subject to a limit on the total number of allowances made available to participants each year. The introductory phase is not a capped phase but all subsequent phases will be capped phases.

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC)
A mandatory emissions trading scheme for non energy-intensive organisations in the public and private sector.

Carbon Trust Standard
The Carbon Trust Standard certifies that an organisation has genuinely reduced its carbon footprint and is committed to making further reductions year-on-year. Assessment against the Standard is undertaken by independent third-party assessors, based on the evidence provided by the participating organisation. To achieve certification against the Standard an organisation must meet the requirements in all three areas by: measuring its key greenhouse gas emissions, showing good carbon management performance and being able to show emissions reduction over the last year – either on a total emissions basis, or on a relative basis (e.g. emissions/?m turnover).

Climate Change Agreements (CCAs)
Climate Change Agreements relate to the Climate Change Levy (CCL), which was put in place to encourage users to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate Change Agreements (CCAs) allow energy intensive business users to receive a discount from the CCL in return for meeting energy efficiency or carbon saving targets. Annex 2 discusses the interaction of CCAs and CRC in more detail. Combined Heat and Power (CHP) A technology where electricity is generated at or near the place where it is used, with the heat produced being used for space heating, water heating or industrial steam loads. This potentially leads to much higher efficiency than conventional generation.

Compliance account
Each participant will have a compliance account through which functions such as registration, reporting and allowance purchasing and trading will be carried out via the registry.

Compliance year
Each phase is made up of a number of compliance years. Each compliance year runs over the same period as a financial year. A participant must meet certain requirements for each compliance year, such as reporting or surrendering allowances. There are seven compliance years for each of the capped phases. The Introductory Phase lasts for three compliance years. The Qualification year is not a compliance year. CRC emissions These are the emissions of each participant for which it must purchase allowances each year.

Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme
An accreditation formerly offered by the Carbon Trust for organisations that make energy supply savings through improved management and energy efficiency measures. This scheme has now been replaced by the Carbon Trust Standard.

Evidence pack
Participants in CRC must keep a record of their organisation’s energy supplies and other documents supporting the information given to the Administrators part of CRC compliance with the need for adequate records. Footprint year The footprint year is the first year of each phase during which participants must monitor energy supply across their organisation and establish the sources of energy supply to be included in CRC for the forthcoming phase.

Footprint report
The footprint report will contain information about organisational energy supplies and the sources to be included in the scheme for that phase. It must be submitted via the CRC registry by the last working day of July, after the end of the footprint year.

Half hourly market
This is the half hourly electricity market used by suppliers and generators to calculate the balance or imbalance, in what is generated and supplied, using electricity supplies information that is recorded half hourly.

Information disclosure
Organisations that have a settled half hourly meter but do not meet the qualification threshold for participation in CRC will have to disclose information on the HHMs they have and their electricity supplies, to the administrator via the online registry. Introductory phase The introductory phase is the first phase of the CRC scheme. It begins in April 2010 and lasts for three years.

League table
A published table detailing the relative performance of all participants in CRC against the three weighted metrics: absolute metric, early action metric and growth metric.

Mandatory Half Hourly Meter (HHM)
Mandatory Half Hourly Meters (HHM) supply electricity settled on the half hourly market and are required in situations where the average peak electricity demand over the three months of highest supplies received exceeds 100kW over the previous 12 months. Note; not all half hourly meters trading on the half hourly market are classed as mandatory.

Megawatt hour (MWh)
A unit of energy equal to 1 million watt hours or 1 million joules per second supplied for a period of one hour.

Participant
An organisation that qualifies or is otherwise required to participate, and must register under CRC. A participant must comply with all requirements of the scheme such as reporting emissions, and purchasing and surrendering allowances.

Primary member
The organisation within an organisational group nominated to act as the participant in CRC on behalf of all parts of that group and who is taken as representing that group in its dealings with the Administrators.

Qualification period
The period during which electricity supplied through all half hourly meters must be monitored to determine whether your organisation qualifies to participate in the forthcoming phase of CRC. The qualification period for the introductory phase is the 2008 calendar year.

Registration period
This is the period during which organisations that qualify for the scheme must register with the scheme administrator via the online CRC registry. For the introductory phase, this period is from April 2010 until the last working day of September 2010. Registry CRC will be administered online via a purpose-built website known as the CRC registry. Participants will register, report, buy and sell allowances and communicate with the administrator via this online system.

Relevant emissions
Relevant emissions refers to all an organisation’s energy supply emissions, minus those from energy used for excluded activities (transport, domestic accommodation and onward supply of fuel).

Secondary market
The secondary market refers to any trade in allowances that takes place between participants or with third parties, i.e. all trading other than the Government’s sale/auction of allowances.