Energy Audit 2027: comprehensive guide to the obligation for energy-consuming enterprises

According to the provisions of the current legislation, mandatory energy diagnosis is now a reality for large companies and for companies classified as “energy-intensive“.

These companies are obliged to provide an energy diagnosis of their buildings by complying with certain periodicities, and then report the result to ENEA, the New Technologies, Energy and Environment Agency.

Companies subject to the obligation must therefore conduct an energy audit every four years.

The last revision of the energy audit was at the end of 2023, which means the next deadline for submitting the energy audit is 2027.

We see below what there is to know about the obligations, deadlines, and regulatory horizon for the 2027 energy audit.

ENERGY AUDIT 2027: STANDARDS, OBLIGATIONS AND DEFINITIONS

An energy audit is an assessment that aims to understand how and where energy is used within a building, whether it is an institution, a business, a set of offices, or a manufacturing plant.

Through this audit, one can understand the current situation and assess possible future interventions to make consumption more efficient and improve the overall management of energy supply and use. Thus, the diagnosis is the step that precedes any evaluation of changes or actions on components or systems of a building.

As stated in Legislative Decree 141/2016, an energy audit is “a systematic procedure” that aims to investigate and learn about the energy consumption profile of a given building or set of buildings, which may be public or private, facilities or commercial establishments, and consequently identify possibilities and strategies to make consumption more efficient and reduce it, opening up opportunities for savings and benefits.

ENERGY AUDITS WILL INCREASINGLY AFFECT RESIDNETIAL BUILDINGS AS WELL

As mentioned, the organization that performs an energy diagnosis is required to report on the results of the audit to the ENEA’s Energy Efficiency Department.

As stated on the Entity’s website, in Italy today the four-yearly energy audit requirement involves the following entities:

• Companies classified as large, with more than 250 employees and an annual turnover of more than EUR 50 million euros, or an annual balance sheet total of more than EUR 43 million euros;
• Enterprises with high energy consumption, or “energy-intensive”, those enterprises that consume in the calendar year 2.4 GWh of electricity (or other type) and, whose energy expenses exceed 3% of the total turnover.

Following regulatory updates, public administrations reported in ISTAT lists, and large enterprises with total consumption of less than 50 toe are exempt from the obligation.

EPBD AND CASE GREEN CASE DIRECTIVES

To this must also be added the European EPBD – Energy Performance of Building Directive, known as “Green Homes,” which generally require buildings in energy class G to be upgraded to at least energy class F by no later than 2030, after which date they can no longer be sold. Excluded from the measure to date are vacation homes, detached dwellings of less than 50 square meters, and churches and other places of worship.

The 2030 deadline is brought forward to 2027 for non-residential buildings, which means that many organizations will have to have an energy audit by 2027.

This obligation in particular would mean that the country would have to make a number of adjustments, not only for companies and production facilities, but also for residential buildings especially older historic building that will have to comply with the legal requirements by making even major renovations and efficiency upgrades.

WHAT ENERGY AUDIT CONSIST OFF?

Let us now return to energy diagnosis and look more specifically at what it consists of.

Depending on specific needs, energy audits can be tailored to the individual case while also taking into account the sector to which the organization in question belongs, in order to best describe its specific characteristics and give a general energy overview.

Energy audits may be different depending on the subject of analysis and the objective of the audit, and may take into account the following aspects and parameters:

• The evaluation of energy bills and individual supply data;
• The general analysis of the building and facilities;
• The assessment of the operating conditions.

This will be followed by:

• An estimate of the margin for efficiency and thus for cutting consumption;
• The calculation of the resulting energy and cost savings;
• The development of an effective strategy for optimizing consumption, but also for reducing CO₂;
• Profiling concrete solutions to implement the previously defined strategy;
• Submit a report to the monitoring agency, ENEA.

THE BENEFITS OF AN ENERGY AUDIT

Although energy audit is a legal obligation for many entities, this does not detract from the fact that an organization may decide independently to have one on a voluntary basis, for strategic reasons, for efficiency and to align with the common goals of the 2030 Agenda regarding ecological transition and emission reduction.

According to reports on the ENEA website, from a survey carried out on energy diagnoses registered in Italy, the efficiency and modification interventions put in place by companies in the country would have collectively produced energy savings of 750 ktoe/year.

[Image source: ENEA Magazine]

In addition to the requirements of current legislations, providing an energy audit of a building has definite advantages. Let’s see them below.

• First, an energy audit plays a key role in a company’s decision to implement energy efficiency measures. An entity or organization with an energy audit will be more likely to put in place energy efficiency investments, compared with an entity that does not have its own energy audit;
• Having an energy diagnosis means to have a clear and precise picture of your own or the energy consumption of your company;
• This awareness is the basis for any intervention to reduce waste, optimize energy use and possibly decrease supply costs;
• Doing an assessment of an organization’s energy profile allows one to evaluate the use of technologies and systems for optimal energy-saving management, and is the basis of the process for ISO 50001- Energy Management Systems certification;
• An energy diagnosis allows a company to evaluate its contractual conditions for energy supply and to take action on its environmental impact and emissions, reducing them;
• Conducting an energy diagnosis allows an organization to access any incentives or deductions provided nationally and internationally.

Preparing an energy audit by 2027 is thus not only a legal requirement, but the first and fundamental step towards any improvement of the energy management system.

It can also form the basis for a broader business strategy that aims to contribute to the increasingly necessary transition towards a more responsible economy, with reduced emissions, optimized consumption and or even better the elimination of waste and dispersion.