Certification, qualification schemes and networks for ESCOs

Energy Services Companies (ESCOs) are important agents in the process of promoting energy efficiency improvements. With a few exceptions such as Germany, Austria, Hungary and to some extent also France, the ESCO industry is still in an early stage and ESCOs are struggling to get off the ground.

The entry  into force of the directive 2006/32/EC in may 2006 on energy end-use efficiency and energy services aims at stimulating and facilitating cost-effective investment in energy efficiency and wants to foster teh development of ESCOs (Art.6)

In the last years, in the wake of this directive as well as a series of European and national laws on the subject and the increased sensibility to energy efficiency and rational use of energy a number of companies have been set up for the supply of integrated services to final energy users, in the field of energy management and energy saving. These energy services are carried out by ESCOs in part or in full, both directly or through sub-contracting, bt generally with the assumption of full responsability and risk in acheiving the expected results. The payment of the services provided is performance base, i.e. made on the basis of results and savings achieved.

In a situation of market development, when an instrument is not fully established, how does a customer know if the service offered is of high quality and how can he make an objective choice in the market? On the other hand how can the provider of a service prove that the service offered meets the demands of the clients?

A solution for both sides could be the confirmation of norm – conform – proceedings of an expertise by an independant body.

This manual shows different kinds of certification, qualification schemes and networks exist for ESCOs i Two questions are discussed then > what could the outline of a European certification scheem look? However, keeping in mind the different initial starting points of each country and different perceptions of energy services and energy service companies the question arises if there are other possibilites of assuring quality of energy services.