Directive 2006/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (repealed)Show full title

CHAPTER III PROMOTION OF ENERGY END-USE EFFICIENCY AND ENERGY SERVICES

Article 6 Energy distributors, distribution system operators and retail energy sales companies

1. Member States shall ensure that energy distributors, distribution system operators and/or retail energy sales companies:

(a) provide on request, but not more than once a year, aggregated statistical information on their final customers to the authorities or agencies referred to in Article 4(4) or to another designated body, provided that the latter in turn transmits to the former the information received. This information must be sufficient to properly design and implement energy efficiency improvement programmes, and to promote and monitor energy services and other energy efficiency improvement measures. It may include historical information and must include current information on end-user consumption, including, where applicable, load profiles, customer segmentation and geographical location of customers, while preserving the integrity and confidentiality of information that is either of private character or commercially sensitive, in compliance with applicable Community legislation;

(b) refrain from any activities that might impede the demand for and delivery of energy services and other energy efficiency improvement measures, or hinder the development of markets for energy services and other energy efficiency improvement measures. The Member State concerned shall take the necessary measures to bring such activities to an end where they occur.

2. Member States shall:

(a) choose one or more of the following requirements to be complied with by energy distributors, distribution system operators and/or retail energy sales companies, directly and/or indirectly through other providers of energy services or energy efficiency improvement measures:

(i)

ensure the offer to their final customers, and the promotion, of competitively priced energy services; or

(ii)

ensure the availability to their final customers, and the promotion, of competitively-priced energy audits conducted in an independent manner and/or energy efficiency improvement measures, in accordance with Article 9(2) and Article 12; or

(iii)

contribute to the funds and funding mechanisms referred to in Article 11. The level of such contributions shall as a minimum correspond to the estimated costs of offering any of the activities referred to in this paragraph and shall be agreed with the authorities or agencies referred to in Article 4(4); and/or

(b) ensure that voluntary agreements and/or other market-oriented schemes, such as white certificates, with an effect equivalent to one or more of the requirements referred to in point (a) exist or are set up. Voluntary agreements shall be assessed, supervised and followed up by the Member State in order to ensure that they have in practice an effect equivalent to one or more of the requirements referred to in point (a).

To that end, the voluntary agreements shall have clear and unambiguous objectives, and monitoring and reporting requirements linked to procedures that can lead to revised and/or additional measures when the objectives are not achieved or are not likely to be achieved. With a view to ensuring transparency, the voluntary agreements shall be made available to the public and published prior to application to the extent that applicable confidentiality provisions allow, and contain an invitation for stakeholders to comment.

3. Member States shall ensure that there are sufficient incentives, equal competition and level playing fields for market actors other than energy distributors, distribution system operators and retail energy sales companies, such as ESCOs, installers, energy advisors and energy consultants, to independently offer and implement the energy services, energy audits and energy efficiency improvement measures described in paragraph 2(a)(i) and (ii).

4. Under paragraphs 2 and 3, Member States may place responsibilities on distribution system operators only if this is consistent with the requirements relating to the unbundling of accounts laid down in Article 19(3) of Directive 2003/54/EC and in Article 17(3) of Directive 2003/55/EC.

5. The implementation of this Article shall be without prejudice to derogations or exemptions granted under Directives 2003/54/EC and 2003/55/EC.

Article 7 Availability of information

1. Member States shall ensure that information on energy efficiency mechanisms and financial and legal frameworks adopted with the aim of reaching the national indicative energy savings target is transparent and widely disseminated to the relevant market actors.

2. Member States shall ensure that greater efforts are made to promote energy end-use efficiency. They shall establish appropriate conditions and incentives for market operators to provide more information and advice to final customers on energy end-use efficiency.

3. The Commission shall ensure that information on best energy-saving practices in Member States is exchanged and widely disseminated.

Article 8 Availability of qualification, accreditation and certification schemes

With a view to achieving a high level of technical competence, objectivity and reliability, Member States shall ensure, where they deem it necessary, the availability of appropriate qualification, accreditation and/or certification schemes for providers of energy services, energy audits and energy efficiency improvement measures as referred to in Article 6(2)(a) (i) and (ii).

Article 9 Financial instruments for energy savings

1. Member States shall repeal or amend national legislation and regulations, other than those of a clearly fiscal nature, that unnecessarily or disproportionately impede or restrict the use of financial instruments for energy savings in the market for energy services or other energy efficiency improvement measures.

2. Member States shall make model contracts for those financial instruments available to existing and potential purchasers of energy services and other energy efficiency improvement measures in the public and private sectors. These may be issued by the authority or agency referred to in Article 4(4).

Article 10 Energy efficient tariffs and other regulations for net-bound energy

1. Member States shall ensure the removal of those incentives in transmission and distribution tariffs that unnecessarily increase the volume of distributed or transmitted energy. In this respect, in accordance with Article 3(2) of Directive 2003/54/EC and with Article 3(2) of Directive 2003/55/EC, Member States may impose public service obligations relating to energy efficiency on undertakings operating in the electricity and gas sectors respectively.

2. Member States may permit components of schemes and tariff structures with a social aim, provided that any disruptive effects on the transmission and distribution system are kept to the minimum necessary and are not disproportionate to the social aim.

Article 11 Funds and funding mechanisms

1. Without prejudice to Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty, Member States may establish a fund or funds to subsidise the delivery of energy efficiency improvement programmes and other energy efficiency improvement measures and to promote the development of a market for energy efficiency improvement measures. Such measures shall include the promotion of energy auditing, financial instruments for energy savings and, where appropriate, improved metering and informative billing. The funds shall also target end-use sectors with higher transaction costs and higher risks.

2. If established, the funds may provide for grants, loans, financial guarantees and/or other types of financing that guarantee results.

3. The funds shall be open to all providers of energy efficiency improvement measures, such as ESCOs, independent energy advisors, energy distributors, distribution system operators, retail energy sales companies and installers. Member States may decide to open the funds to all final customers. Tendering or equivalent methods which ensure complete transparency shall be carried out in full compliance with applicable public procurement regulations. Member States shall ensure that such funds complement, and do not compete with, commercially-financed energy efficiency improvement measures.

Article 12 Energy audits

1. Member States shall ensure the availability of efficient, high-quality energy audit schemes which are designed to identify potential energy efficiency improvement measures and which are carried out in an independent manner, to all final consumers, including smaller domestic, commercial and small and medium-sized industrial customers.

2. Market segments that have higher transaction costs and non-complex facilities may be reached by other measures such as questionnaires and computer programmes made available on the Internet and/or sent to customers by mail. Member States shall ensure the availability of energy audits for market segments where they are not sold commercially, taking into account Article 11(1).

3. Certification in accordance with Article 7 of Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2002 on the energy performance of buildings(1) shall be regarded as equivalent to an energy audit meeting the requirements set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article and as equivalent to an energy audit as referred to in Annex VI(e) to this Directive. Furthermore, audits resulting from schemes based on voluntary agreements between organisations of stakeholders and an appointed body, supervised and followed up by the Member State concerned in accordance with Article 6(2)(b) of this Directive, shall likewise be considered as having fulfilled the requirements set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.

Article 13 Metering and informative billing of energy consumption

1. Member States shall ensure that, in so far as it is technically possible, financially reasonable and proportionate in relation to the potential energy savings, final customers for electricity, natural gas, district heating and/or cooling and domestic hot water are provided with competitively priced individual meters that accurately reflect the final customer's actual energy consumption and that provide information on actual time of use.

When an existing meter is replaced, such competitively priced individual meters shall always be provided, unless this is technically impossible or not cost-effective in relation to the estimated potential savings in the long term. When a new connection is made in a new building or a building undergoes major renovations, as set out in Directive 2002/91/EC, such competitively priced individual meters shall always be provided.

2. Member States shall ensure that, where appropriate, billing performed by energy distributors, distribution system operators and retail energy sales companies is based on actual energy consumption, and is presented in clear and understandable terms. Appropriate information shall be made available with the bill to provide final customers with a comprehensive account of current energy costs. Billing on the basis of actual consumption shall be performed frequently enough to enable customers to regulate their own energy consumption.

3. Member States shall ensure that, where appropriate, the following information is made available to final customers in clear and understandable terms by energy distributors, distribution system operators or retail energy sales companies in or with their bills, contracts, transactions, and/or receipts at distribution stations:

(a) current actual prices and actual consumption of energy;

(b) comparisons of the final customer's current energy consumption with consumption for the same period in the previous year, preferably in graphic form;

(c) wherever possible and useful, comparisons with an average normalised or benchmarked user of energy in the same user category;

(d) contact information for consumers’ organisations, energy agencies or similar bodies, including website addresses, from which information may be obtained on available energy efficiency improvement measures, comparative end-user profiles and/or objective technical specifications for energy-using equipment.

(1)

OJ L 1, 4.1.2003, p. 65.