The Ministry of Climate and Environment is working on a draft law amending the Energy Efficiency Act.
The project is designed to implement the so-called EED Directive (Energy Efficiency Directive 2023/1791).
Among the proposed regulations, it is worth noting the following.
Obligation to apply the “energy efficiency first” principle by adding a provision obliging the investor to carry out an analysis of energy efficiency solutions in the case of projects or investments exceeding the budget of EUR 100 million (EUR 175 million in the case of transport infrastructure projects).
The analysis will concern investments (within the above investment threshold) in all sectors of the economy. The analysis should consist of a comprehensive assessment of the current situation in the area in which the investment is to be implemented. The Ministry will publish in the Public Information Bulletin the framework guidelines for conducting the analysis. It will be carried out before the investment.
The obligation to conduct an energy audit – will be performed by a company whose average annual energy consumption in the last three years, taking into account all energy carriers, exceeds 10 TJ (which corresponds to 2.778 GWh). These entities will also be obliged to report on energy consumption annually (by the end of March for the previous year).
In addition, if the average annual energy consumption of a company over the last three years, taking into account all energy carriers, exceeds 85TJ (equivalent to 23.611 GWh), it will be obliged to implement a certified energy management system (implementation by October 2027).
The principle of “energy efficiency first” is to be applied in the public procurement process, which may significantly affect the specifications of the tenders announced.
It is also proposed to modify the system of energy performance certificates (in particular their digitalisation), as well as to establish the profession of a regulated energy efficiency auditor.
Public institutions will be obliged, among other things, to reduce the consumption of total final energy by 1.9% per year compared to 2021 and to implement a system for monitoring and reporting obligations in this regard. To this end, they will be required in particular to develop energy consumption plans and appropriate reporting.
Violation of the regulations may be associated with a sanction imposed by the President of the Energy Regulatory Office (up to 5% of revenues from the previous tax year).
The project will probably be processed later this year.
