3.5 lakh companies will have to undergo new and expensive audits

The EU Energy Efficiency Directive, amended in 2023, obliges many Polish companies to conduct an energy audit more than the current energy efficiency law.

• The revised Energy Efficiency Directive issued in September 2023 came into force.
• – According to our assessments, the new requirements expand the circle of companies that will have to conduct energy audits. We expect that the energy consumption standard of 2,778 MWh will mean that the obligation to conduct audits will cover 2-3 times more companies than before – comments Rafal Sinijoki from Tauron. In 2017, when mandatory energy audits of enterprises had to be carried out for the first time, this concerned, according to the Office of Energy Regulation, about 3,500 companies. This means the commitment will cover at least 3.5 lakh. Additional entrepreneurs in Poland.
• Of course, audits cost money. Rafal Sinijoki points out that the prices for energy audits depend mainly on the number of company locations and the number of energy companies covered by the audit.

The EU Energy Efficiency Directive, amended in 2023, obliges many companies to carry out an energy audit more than the current energy efficiency law.

We are talking about this with Tauron Sales, the company is mainly associated with the sale of electricity, but it also conducts energy audits in enterprises and has been involved in several energy audits since 2010.

– Improving energy efficiency results in lower business costs, allowing the company to become more competitive. The energy-efficient company also has fewer emissions and thus reduces the negative impact on the natural environment. It is worth conducting an energy audit and implementing pro-efficiency solutions that can reduce a company's energy consumption by up to 30%. – convinces Thomas Linder, Vice President of Tauron Sales.

Companies whose average energy consumption over the past three years exceeded 2,778 megawatts per hour will be obliged to conduct an energy audit.

– According to the current provisions of the Energy Efficiency Act, large companies were obliged to conduct audits, i.e. those that employ on average at least 250 employees per year or have annual net sales exceeding the equivalent of EUR 50 million and own assets equivalent to PLN 43 million EUR – says Rafal Sinijoki, energy efficiency expert at Tauron.

– According to the new EU regulations developed under the revised Energy Efficiency Directive, companies whose average volume of energy consumed in the last three years exceeded 2,778 MWh will be obliged to conduct an energy audit – says Rafal Senegjoki.

We will not find this level of 2,778 MWh in the guidance – it is a conversion to MWh of data provided by Tauron from the Regulation, where the TJ audit standard is set.

This provision states that Member States must ensure that enterprises whose average annual energy consumption over the past three years, taking into account all energy carriers, exceeds 10 TJ and which have not implemented an energy management system are subject to an energy audit.

The relevant provision is contained in Art. 11 of the amended Directive, which states that Member States “shall put into effect the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with them”, inter alia: Art. From 11 to 11 October 2025

The obligation to conduct audits will cover 2-3 times more companies than before

Clarifications obtained from Torun show that the new audits, similar to previous audits, will include a detailed review of energy consumption in buildings or groups of buildings, industrial facilities and transportation, representing at least 90 percent in total. Total energy consumption of the organization.

The energy company notes that entrepreneurs who consume more than 23,611 megawatt-hours of energy on average per year over the past three years (guided just above 85 terajoules) will be required to have and maintain an energy management system. They will have four years from the date the regulations come into force to implement this solution.

– In 2017, when mandatory energy audits of enterprises had to be carried out for the first time, this concerned about 3,500 companies, according to the Office of Energy Regulation. In 2021, when these audits had to be carried out again, the number of companies that were subject to this obligation was slightly larger, but not significantly – reports Rafal Sinijoki.

– According to our assessments, the new requirements expand the circle of companies that will have to conduct energy audits. We expect that the energy consumption standard of 2,778 MWh will mean that the obligation to conduct audits will cover companies 2-3 times more than before – he comments.

Prices for energy audits depend mainly on the number of company locations and the number of energy companies covered by the audit

Of course, audits cost money. Information from market offers shows that carrying out an energy audit of an enterprise costs from several tens of thousands of zlotys to more than one hundred thousand zlotys, says Rafal Sinijoki.

He points out that audit prices depend mainly on the number of company locations and the number of energy carriers covered by the audit.

-For the businessman, the final part of the audit is crucial, as it contains recommendations to improve energy efficiency. If done well, it should resemble a seed investment project. Our experience shows that using information from recommendations allows you to recoup audit costs even within one month. Of course, some companies take audits seriously and others as a formality – comments Rafal Schnijoki.

How big are the energy savings after implementing the recommended solutions? Tauron Sales provides examples.

– Savings solutions are selected individually for the company. For example, after conducting an audit and implementing recommended solutions, such as heat recovery from chilled water units, one of our customers reduced energy consumption by approximately 800 MWh during the year, and another reduced energy demand by more than 500 MWh with Heat recovery from compressors – says Tomáš Linder.

Tauron Capital Group from Katowice, to which Tauron Sales belongs, is mainly engaged in the generation, distribution and sale of electricity.

In the first three quarters of 2023, the Group generated PLN 32.4 billion in sales revenue, recording approximately PLN 2.3 billion in net profit, compared to revenues of PLN 26.8 billion (including operations discontinued from 2023) and 0. PLN 4 billion in net profits. In the corresponding period of 2022.

The largest shareholders of Tauron Polska Energia, the holding company of the Tauron Group, are: State Treasury – 30.6 percent. Shares of KGHM Polska Miedź – 10.39 percent and Nationale – Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne – 5.06 percent.