Subject matter and scope
1. This Directive establishes a common framework of measures to promote energy efficiency within the Union in order to ensure that the Union’s targets on energy efficiency are met and enables further energy efficiency improvements. The aim of that common framework is to contribute to the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 35 ) and to the Union’s security of energy supply by reducing its dependence on energy imports, including fossil fuels.
This Directive lays down rules designed to implement energy efficiency as a priority across all sectors, remove barriers in the energy market and overcome market failures that impede efficiency in the supply, transmission, storage and use of energy. It also provides for the establishment of indicative national energy efficiency contributions for 2030.
This Directive contributes to the implementation of the energy efficiency first principle, thus also contributing to the Union being an inclusive, fair and prosperous society with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy.
2. The requirements laid down in this Directive are minimum requirements and shall not prevent any Member State from maintaining or introducing more stringent measures. Such measures shall comply with Union law. Where national legislation provides for more stringent measures, the Member State shall notify such legislation to the Commission.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions apply:
(1)
‘energy’ means energy products as defined in Article 2, point (d), of Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 36 ) ;
(2)
‘energy efficiency first’ means energy efficiency first as defined in Article 2, point (18), of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999;
(3)
‘energy system’ means a system primarily designed to supply energy-services to satisfy the demand of end-use sectors for energy in the forms of heat, fuels, and electricity;
(4)
‘system efficiency’ means the selection of energy-efficient solutions where they also enable a cost-effective decarbonisation pathway, additional flexibility and the efficient use of resources;
(5)
‘primary energy consumption’ or ‘PEC’ means gross available energy, excluding international maritime bunkers, final non-energy consumption and ambient energy;
(6)
‘final energy consumption’ or ‘FEC’ means all energy supplied to industry, to transport, including energy consumption in international aviation, to households, to public and private services, to agriculture, to forestry, to fishing and to other end-use sectors, excluding energy consumption in international maritime bunkers, ambient energy and deliveries to the transformation sector and to the energy sector, and losses due to transmission and distribution as defined in Annex A to Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008;
(7)
‘ambient energy’ means ambient energy as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;
(8)
‘energy efficiency’ means the ratio of output of performance, service, goods or energy to input of energy;
(9)
‘energy savings’ means an amount of saved energy determined by measuring or estimating consumption, or both,, before and after the implementation of an energy efficiency improvement measure, whilst ensuring normalisation for external conditions that affect energy consumption;
(10)
‘energy efficiency improvement’ means an increase in energy efficiency as a result of any technological, behavioural or economic changes;
(11)
‘energy service’ means the physical benefit, utility or good derived from a combination of energy with energy-efficient technology or with action, which may include the operations, maintenance and control necessary to deliver the service, which is delivered on the basis of a contract and in normal circumstances has proven to result in verifiable and measurable or estimable energy efficiency improvement or primary energy savings;
(12)
‘public bodies’ means national, regional or local authorities and entities directly financed and administered by those authorities but not having an industrial or commercial character;
(13)
‘total useful floor area’ means the floor area of a building, or part of a building, where energy is used to condition the indoor climate;
(14)
‘contracting authorities’ means contracting authorities as defined in Article 6(1) of Directive 2014/23/EU, Article 2(1), point (1), of Directive 2014/24/EU and Article 3(1) of Directive 2014/25/EU;
(15)
‘contracting entities’ means contracting entities as defined in Article 7(1) of Directive 2014/23/EU and Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/25/EU;
(16)
‘energy management system’ means a set of interrelated or interacting elements of a strategy which sets an energy efficiency objective and a plan to achieve that objective, including the monitoring of actual energy consumption, actions taken to increase energy efficiency and the measurement of progress;
(17)
‘European standard’ means a standard adopted by the European Committee for Standardization, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization or the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, which is made available for public use;
(18)
‘international standard’ means a standard adopted by the International Organization for Standardization, which is made available for public use;
(19)
‘obligated party’ means an energy distributor, retail energy sales company or transmission system operator, which is bound by the national energy efficiency obligation schemes referred to in Article 9;
(20)
‘entrusted party’ means a legal entity with delegated power from a government or other public body to develop, manage or operate a financing scheme on behalf of that government or other public body;
(21)
‘participating party’ means an enterprise or public body that has committed itself to reaching certain objectives under a voluntary agreement, or that is covered by a national regulatory policy instrument;
(22)
‘implementing public authority’ means a body governed by public law which is responsible for the carrying out or monitoring of energy or carbon taxation, financial schemes and instruments, fiscal incentives, standards and norms, energy labelling schemes, training or education;
(23)
‘policy measure’ means a regulatory, financial, fiscal, voluntary or information provision instrument formally established and implemented in a Member State to create a supportive framework, requirement or incentive for market actors to provide and purchase energy services and to undertake other energy efficiency improvement measures;
(24)
‘individual action’ means an action that leads to verifiable and measurable or estimable energy efficiency improvements and that is undertaken as a result of a policy measure;
(25)
‘energy distributor’ means a natural or legal person, including a distribution system operator, who is responsible for transporting energy with a view to its delivery to final customers or to distribution stations that sell energy to final customers;
(26)
‘distribution system operator’ means distribution system operator as defined in Article 2, point (29), of Directive (EU) 2019/944 as regards electricity or Article 2, point (6), of Directive 2009/73/EC as regards gas;
(27)
‘retail energy sales company’ means a natural or legal person who sells energy to final customers;
(28)
‘final customer’ means a natural or legal person who purchases energy for own end use;
(29)
‘energy service provider’ means a natural or legal person who delivers energy services or energy efficiency improvement measures in a final customer’s facility or premises;
(30)
‘small and medium-sized enterprises’ or ‘SMEs’ means enterprises as defined in Article 2(1) of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC ( 37 ) ;
(31)
‘microenterprise’ means an enterprise as defined in Article 2(3) of the Annex to Recommendation 2003/361/EC;
(32)
‘energy audit’ means a systematic procedure with the purpose of obtaining adequate knowledge of the energy consumption profile of a building or group of buildings, an industrial or commercial operation or installation or a private or public service, identifying and quantifying opportunities for cost-effective energy savings, identifying the potential for cost-effective use or production of renewable energy and reporting the findings;
(33)
‘energy performance contracting’ means a contractual arrangement between the beneficiary and the provider of an energy efficiency improvement measure, verified and monitored during the whole term of the contract, where the works, supply or service in that measure are paid for in relation to a contractually agreed level of energy efficiency improvement or another agreed energy performance criterion, such as financial savings;
(34)
‘smart metering system’ means smart metering system as defined in Article 2, point (23), of Directive (EU) 2019/944 or intelligent metering system as referred to in Directive 2009/73/EC;
(35)
‘transmission system operator’ means transmission system operator as defined in Article 2, point (35), of Directive (EU) 2019/944 as regards electricity or Article 2, point (4), of Directive 2009/73/EC as regards gas;
(36)
‘cogeneration’ means the simultaneous generation in one process of thermal energy and electrical or mechanical energy;
(37)
‘economically justifiable demand’ means a demand that does not exceed the needs for heating or cooling and which would otherwise be satisfied at market conditions by energy generation processes other than cogeneration;
(38)
‘useful heat’ means heat produced in a cogeneration process to satisfy an economically justifiable demand for heating or cooling;
(39)
‘electricity from cogeneration’ means electricity generated in a process linked to the production of useful heat and calculated in accordance with the general principles set out in Annex II;
(40)
‘high-efficiency cogeneration’ means cogeneration meeting the criteria laid down in Annex III;
(41)
‘overall efficiency’ means the annual sum of electricity and mechanical energy production and useful heat output divided by the fuel input used for heat produced in a cogeneration process and gross electricity and mechanical energy production;
(42)
‘power-to-heat ratio’ means the ratio of electricity from cogeneration to useful heat when operating in full cogeneration mode using operational data of the specific unit;
(43)
‘cogeneration unit’ means a unit that is able to operate in cogeneration mode;
(44)
‘small-scale cogeneration unit’ means a cogeneration unit with installed capacity below 1 MW e ;
(45)
‘micro-cogeneration unit’ means a cogeneration unit with a maximum capacity below 50 kW e ;
(46)
‘efficient district heating and cooling’ means a district heating or cooling system meeting the criteria laid down in Article 26;
(47)
‘efficient heating and cooling’ means a heating and cooling option that, compared to a baseline scenario reflecting a business-as-usual situation, measurably reduces the input of primary energy needed to supply one unit of delivered energy within a relevant system boundary in a cost-effective way, as assessed in the cost-benefit analysis referred to in this Directive, taking into account the energy required for extraction, conversion, transport and distribution;
(48)
‘efficient individual heating and cooling’ means an individual heating and cooling supply option that, compared to efficient district heating and cooling, measurably reduces the input of non-renewable primary energy needed to supply one unit of delivered energy within a relevant system boundary or requires the same input of non-renewable primary energy but at a lower cost, taking into account the energy required for extraction, conversion, transport and distribution;
(49)
‘data centre’ means data centre as defined in Annex A, point 2.6.3.1.16, of Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008;
(50)
‘substantial refurbishment’ means a refurbishment the cost of which exceeds 50 % of the investment cost for a new comparable unit;
(51)
‘aggregator’ means independent aggregator as defined in Article 2, point (19), of Directive (EU) 2019/944;
(52)
‘energy poverty’ means a household’s lack of access to essential energy services, where such services provide basic levels and decent standards of living and health, including adequate heating, hot water, cooling, lighting, and energy to power appliances, in the relevant national context, existing national social policy and other relevant national policies, caused by a combination of factors, including at least non-affordability, insufficient disposable income, high energy expenditure and poor energy efficiency of homes;
(53)
‘final user’ means a natural or legal person purchasing heating, cooling or domestic hot water for their own end use, or a natural or legal person occupying an individual building or a unit in a multi-apartment or multi-purpose building supplied with heating, cooling or domestic hot water from a central source, where such a person has no direct or individual contract with the energy supplier;
(54)
‘split incentives’ means the lack of fair and reasonable distribution of financial obligations and rewards relating to energy efficiency investments among the actors concerned, for example the owners and tenants or the different owners of building units, or owners and tenants or different owners of multi-apartment or multi-purpose buildings.
(55)
‘engagement strategy’ means a strategy that sets objectives, develops techniques and establishes the process by which to involve all relevant stakeholders at national or local level, including civil society representatives such as consumer organisations, in the policy-making process, with the goal of increasing awareness, obtaining feedback on such policies and improving their public acceptance.
(56)
‘statistically significant proportion and representative sample of the energy efficiency improvement measures’ means such a proportion and sample which require the establishment of a subset of a statistical population of the energy savings measures in question in such a way as to reflect the entire population of all energy savings measures, and thus allow for reasonably reliable conclusions regarding confidence in the totality of the measures.
Energy efficiency first principle
1. In accordance with the energy efficiency first principle, Member States shall ensure that energy efficiency solutions, including demand-side resources and system flexibilities, are assessed in planning, policy and major investment decisions of a value of more than EUR 100 000 000 each or EUR 175 000 000 for transport infrastructure projects, relating to the following sectors:
(a)
energy systems; and
(b)
non-energy sectors, where those sectors have an impact on energy consumption and energy efficiency such as buildings, transport, water, information and communications technology (ICT), agriculture and financial sectors.
2. By 11 October 2027, the Commission shall carry out an assessment of the thresholds set out in paragraph 1, with the aim of downward revision, taking into account possible developments in the economy and in the energy market. The Commission shall, by 11 October 2028, submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council, followed, where appropriate, by legislative proposals.
3. In applying this Article, Member States are encouraged to take into account Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/1749 ( 38 ) .
4. Member States shall ensure that the competent authorities monitor the application of the energy efficiency first principle, including, where appropriate, sector integration and cross-sectoral impacts, where policy, planning and investment decisions are subject to approval and monitoring requirements.
5. In applying the energy efficiency first principle, Member States shall:
(a)
promote and, where cost-benefit analyses are required, ensure the application of, and make publicly available, cost-benefit methodologies that allow proper assessment of the wider benefits of energy efficiency solutions where appropriate, taking into account the entire life cycle and long-term perspective, system and cost efficiency, security of supply and quantification from the societal, health, economic and climate neutrality perspectives, sustainability and circular economy principles in transition to climate neutrality;
(b)
address the impact on energy poverty;
(c)
identify an entity or entities responsible for monitoring the application of the energy efficiency first principle and the impacts of regulatory frameworks, including financial regulations, planning, policy and the major investment decisions referred to in paragraph 1 on energy consumption, energy efficiency and energy systems;
(d)
report to the Commission, as part of their integrated national energy and climate progress reports submitted pursuant to Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999, on how the energy efficiency first principle was taken into account in the national and, where applicable, regional and local planning, policy and major investment decisions related to the national and regional energy systems including at least the following:
(i)
an assessment of the application and benefits of the energy efficiency first principle in energy systems, in particular in relation to energy consumption;
(ii)
a list of actions taken to remove any unnecessary regulatory or non-regulatory barriers to the implementation of the energy efficiency first principle and of demand-side solutions, including through the identification of national legislation and measures that are contrary to the energy efficiency first principle.
6. By 11 April 2024, the Commission shall adopt guidelines providing a common general framework including supervision, the monitoring and reporting procedure, which Member States may use to design the cost-benefit methodologies referred to in paragraph 5, point (a), for the purpose of comparability, while leaving the possibility for Member States to adapt to national and local circumstances.
Energy efficiency targets
1. Member States shall collectively ensure a reduction of energy consumption of at least 11,7 % in 2030 compared to the projections of the 2020 EU Reference Scenario so that the Union’s final energy consumption amounts to no more than 763 Mtoe. Member States shall make efforts to collectively contribute to the indicative Union primary energy consumption target amounting to no more than 992,5 Mtoe in 2030.
2. Each Member State shall set an indicative national energy efficiency contribution based on final energy consumption to meet, collectively, the Union’s binding final energy consumption target referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and shall make efforts to contribute collectively to the Union’s indicative primary energy consumption target referred to in that paragraph. Member States shall notify those contributions to the Commission, together with an indicative trajectory for those contributions, as part of the updates of their integrated national energy and climate plans submitted pursuant to Article 14(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999, and of their integrated national energy and climate plans notified pursuant to Article 3 and Articles 7 to 12 of that Regulation. When doing so, Member States shall also express their contributions in terms of an absolute level of primary energy consumption in 2030. When setting their indicative national energy efficiency contributions, Member States shall take into account the requirements set out in paragraph 3 of this Article and explain how, and on the basis of which data, the contributions have been calculated. To that end, they may use the formula set out in Annex I to this Directive.
Member States shall provide the shares of primary energy consumption and final energy consumption of energy end-use sectors, as defined in Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008, including industry, residential, services and transport, in their national energy efficiency contributions. Member States shall also indicate projections for energy consumption in ICT.
3. In setting their indicative national energy efficiency contributions referred to in paragraph 2, Member States shall take into account:
(a)
the Union’s 2030 final energy consumption target of no more than 763 Mtoe and the primary energy consumption target of no more than 992,5 Mtoe, as provided for in paragraph 1;
(b)
the measures provided for in this Directive;
(c)
other measures to promote energy efficiency within Member States and at Union level;
(d)
any relevant factors affecting efficiency efforts:
(i)
early efforts and actions in energy efficiency;
(ii)
the equitable distribution of efforts across the Union;
(iii)
the energy intensity of the economy;
(iv)
the remaining cost-effective energy-saving potential;
(e)
other national circumstances affecting energy consumption, in particular:
(i)
GDP and demographic evolution and forecast;
(ii)
changes of energy imports and exports, developments in the energy mix and the deployment of new sustainable fuels;
(iii)
the development of all sources of renewable energies, nuclear energy, carbon capture and storage;
(iv)
the decarbonisation of energy intensive industries;
(v)
the level of ambition in the national decarbonisation or climate neutrality plans;
(vi)
economic energy savings potential;
(vii)
current climate conditions and climate change forecast.
4. When applying the requirements set out in paragraph 3, a Member State shall ensure that its contribution in Mtoe is not more than 2,5 % above what it would have been had it resulted from the formula set out in Annex I.
5. The Commission shall assess that the collective contribution of Member States is at least equal to the Union’s binding target for final energy consumption set out in paragraph 1 of this Article. Where the Commission concludes that it is insufficient, as part of its assessment of the draft updated national energy and climate plans pursuant to Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999, or at the latest by 1 March 2024, taking into consideration the updated 2020 EU Reference Scenario pursuant to this paragraph, the Commission shall submit to each Member State a corrected indicative national energy efficiency contribution for final energy consumption on the basis of:
(a)
the remaining collective reduction of final energy consumption needed to achieve the Union’s binding target set out in paragraph 1;
(b)
the relative GHG intensity per GDP unit in 2019 among the Member States concerned;
(c)
the GDP of those Member States in 2019.
Before applying the formula in Annex I for the mechanism established in this paragraph and at the latest by 30 November 2023, the Commission shall update the 2020 EU Reference Scenario on the basis of the latest Eurostat data reported by the Member States, in accordance with Article 4(2), point (b), and Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.
Notwithstanding Article 37 of this Directive, Member States that wish to update their indicative national energy efficiency contributions pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article, using the updated 2020 EU Reference Scenario, shall notify their updated indicative national energy efficiency contribution at the latest by 1 February 2024. Where a Member State wishes to update its indicative national energy efficiency contribution, it shall ensure that its contribution in Mtoe is not more than 2,5 % above what it would have been had it resulted from the formula set out in Annex I with the use of the updated 2020 EU Reference Scenario.
Member States to which a corrected indicative national energy efficiency contribution was submitted by the Commission shall update their indicative national energy efficiency contributions pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article, with the corrected indicative national energy efficiency contribution for final energy consumption together with an update of their indicative trajectory for those contribution and, where applicable, their additional measures, as part of the updates of their integrated national energy and climate plans submitted pursuant to Article 14(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999. The Commission shall, in accordance with that Regulation, require Member States to submit, without delay, their corrected indicative energy efficiency contribution and, where applicable, their additional measures to ensure the application of the mechanism set out in this paragraph.
Where a Member State has notified an indicative national energy efficiency contribution for final energy consumption in Mtoe equal to or below what it would have been had it resulted from the formula set out in Annex I, the Commission shall not amend that contribution.
When applying the mechanism set out in this paragraph, the Commission shall ensure that there is no difference left between the sum of the national contributions of all Member States and the Union’s binding target set out in paragraph 1.
6. Where the Commission concludes, on the basis of its assessment pursuant to Article 29(1) and (3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999, that insufficient progress has been made towards meeting the energy efficiency contributions, Member States that are above their indicative trajectories for final energy consumption referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall ensure that additional measures are implemented within one year of the date of receipt of the Commission’s assessment in order to get back on track to reach their energy efficiency contributions. Those additional measures shall include, but shall not be limited to, at least one of the following measures:
(a)
national measures delivering additional energy savings, including stronger project development assistance for the implementation of energy efficiency investment measures;
(b)
increasing the energy savings obligation set out in Article 8 of this Directive;
(c)
adjusting the obligation for public sector;
(d)
making a voluntary financial contribution to the national energy efficiency fund referred to in Article 30 of this Directive or another financing instrument dedicated to energy efficiency, where the annual financial contributions shall be equal to the investments required to reach the indicative trajectory.
Where a Member State’s final energy consumption is above its indicative trajectory for final energy consumption referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, it shall include in its integrated national energy and climate progress report submitted pursuant to Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 an explanation of the measures it will take to cover the gap in order to ensure that it reaches its national energy efficiency contributions and the amount of energy savings expected to be delivered.
The Commission shall assess whether the national measures referred to in this paragraph are sufficient to achieve the Union’s energy efficiency targets. Where national measures are deemed to be insufficient, the Commission shall, as appropriate, propose measures and exercise its power at Union level in order to ensure, in particular, the achievement of the Union’s 2030 targets for energy efficiency.
7. The Commission shall assess by 31 December 2026 any methodological changes in the data reported pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008, in the methodology for calculating energy balance, and in energy models for European energy use, and, if necessary, propose technical calculation adjustments to the Union’s 2030 targets with a view to maintaining the level of ambition set out in paragraph 1 of this Article.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
