The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) yesterday announced a consultation on a delay to the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. The Department proposed phase 2 of the scheme, including the qualifying period, will be delayed by two years.
Rob Tanzer, technical support manager for the Chloride AC Power business of Emerson Network Power in the United Kingdom, explains the impact for power consuming businesses: "Major power users such as the biggest data centres have already bought into the need to lower their energy bills for a variety of reasons, including the CRC. There are still sound commercial reasons for all organisations to be installing the most energy efficient equipment available, today rather than tomorrow. For organisations yet to qualify, there's a significant opportunity at hand. Businesses have breathing space, either to bring emissions below threshold levels or to initiate projects that will cut exposure when the CRC finally hits."
"Nevertheless, the big strategic imperative remains: to save money on ongoing basis by replacing ageing technology and processes – UPS is always a good candidate – with better, more cost efficient ones as electricity prices inevitably increase."