A handful of companies may not make the December 5 guideline for mandatory energy audits, unless they get them going soon.
Charles Buttigieg, the senior policy officer at the Sustainable Energy and Water Conservation Unit, said that around 50 companies in Malta fall into the category of non-SMEs, which need to have the audits – every four years – as part of the Energy Efficiency Directive.
Malta is one of the most advanced member states in terms of preparation, according to Ing. Buttigieg, who recently returned from a conference in Riga, Latvia, where he was surprised to see how far behind most were.
Two courses were already held for around 30 energy auditors with a third about to start, which will add a further 16, which will be listed on the Malta Resources Authority website. A seminar was also held last December for the companies involved, and the unit has been liaising closely with the Malta Business Bureau since last summer to make sure stakeholders are kept up to date.
The advanced stage of preparations is also helped by the fact that there are only 50 companies which qualify – with a headcount of over 250 and an annual turnover of over €50 million – although this formula is complicated if a smaller local company is part of a large overseas subsidiary. And some of the 50 companies could be groups with a number of subsidiaries.
“Because Malta is so small it was very easy for us to make contact with many of them. But unfortunately, some of them are underestimating the amount of time it takes to carry out the audits – months in some cases – and they may not get them done on time,” he warned.
There are three sectors that are particularly affected: hotels, the manufacturing sector and transport – which includes not only trucking firms but any firms with fleets of delivery vehicles. The guidance notes specify that to qualify for the audit, the entity would need to use over 50,000kwh, which means offices would not need any.
“We want to make the wisest possible use of resources and focus on high energy users,” Ing. Buttigieg said. Although there are exceptions, many hotels need more energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, as well as water management.
On the other hand, most manufacturing firms use huge amounts of energy and therefore already have extremely advanced energy-saving systems and do audits.
“We have exempted those who already have audits from having to repeat them. It would not make sense to add an additional burden,” he said.
Surprisingly, although the auditors will make recommendations, the companies are not obliged to act on them.
“This is one of the reasons that we are working so closely with the MBB as it is not in the companies’ interest to pay for an audit and then ignore recommendations which could save them money in the long term.
Although there will be quick wins, other recommendations will require mor investment. Upgrading to more energy-efficient systems does not come cheap but Ing. Buttigieg said there are funds available from the ERDF which could be used to carry out the recommendations.
The unit is focused on getting all the companies through the process, rather than on waving a stick. But there is no denying that the stick is there – fines up to €100,000 with a daily fine of €600 until compliance – and the European Commission would eventually check on progress.
“We are confident that the companies will be ready in time – as long as they do not drag their feet!” he said.
The guidance notes drawn up by the unit are available at www.energy.gov.mt/en/Pages/guidancenotes.aspx.