The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has today approved the ministerial order that develops several elements of the Energy Savings Certificate System (CAE), available here. Its application will make it easier to achieve the national savings targets set by Community regulations, will allow energy companies to meet their savings obligations more flexibly, will benefit consumers and boost employment, productivity and business competitiveness.

Directive 2012/27/EU, relating to energy efficiency, urges member states to create a National System of Energy Efficiency Obligations (SNOEE) that allows the operators of gas and electricity trading companies to be assigned wholesale petroleum products and retail liquefied petroleum gas operators, an annual energy savings quota at national level, depending on their sales volume, which in the Spanish case translates into financial contributions equivalent to the National Fund of Energy Efficiency (FNEE).

In order to strengthen the SNOEE, energy companies subject to an annual savings quota will be able to voluntarily replace payments to the FNEE, in a percentage that will be determined annually and which reaches 40% in 2023, for energy savings equivalent final that they can accredit with CAE. The CAEs can be commercialized, monetizing the savings, and will be obtained as consideration for energy efficiency measures that can be included in a Catalog of standardized measures included in a ministerial order in an advanced state of processing. The CAEs will be issued by the Manager appointed by each community and autonomous city and the coordination of the system will correspond to MITECO.

Thus, this system will make it possible to increase the savings obligations in line with the new European regulations, benefiting at the same time the obliged subjects - whose financial obligations it cushions -, the final consumers - who will see a reduction in their energy bills - and the citizens , which will have to bear lower bureaucratic burdens.

Delegated subject, verification of savings and registration

This ministerial order develops several elements of Royal Decree 36/2023, such as the figures of the Delegated Subject, the Energy Savings Verifier or the National Register of CAE.

The companies obliged to contribute to the SNOEE will be able to make use of delegated subjects who, duly accredited, will carry out energy saving and efficiency actions that will allow the former to reduce their annual financial contribution to the FNEE. Both the delegated subjects and the obliged companies can promote the performance of actions to obtain CAE or, if not, acquire CAE directly on the market.

The Verifier will be an entity accredited by the National Accreditation Body (ENAC) in charge of verifying that the documentation submitted by the obliged companies or their delegates to obtain CAE is in accordance with the regulations. It will carry out your task in accordance with ENAC procedures.

The CAEs issued by the Regional Managers will be entered in the National Register of CAEs. It will depend on the MITECO and will allow an inventory of the obliged companies and delegated subjects in each financial year, as well as tracing all the operations carried out with the CAEs during their three years of validity from the execution of the measure. It will be hosted on an electronic platform that will allow those interested to process the entire procedure related to the CAEs, from the application to the settlement, in a transparent manner.