The Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) has been created as part of the government's Home Energy Saving Programme. It requires gas and electricity suppliers and electricity generators to deliver energy saving measures to domestic consumers in specific low income areas of Great Britain. CESP has been designed to promote a 'whole house' approach and to treat as many properties as possible in defined areas.
The Order will come into force on 1 September 2009. The CESP obligation period will run from 1 October 2009 to 31 December 2012. It will require certain gas and electricity suppliers and certain electricity generators to meet a carbon emissions reduction target. The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) are responsible for setting the overall CESP target and the policy framework and Ofgem is responsible for administering the programme.
The Order requires all licensed gas and electricity suppliers that have at least 50,000 domestic customers and all licensed electricity generators that have generated on average 10 TWh/yr or more in a specified three year period to meet a carbon reduction obligation.
The Order requires energy suppliers and for the first time electricity generators to comply with an overall carbon emissions reduction target of 19.25 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO2). Obligated suppliers and generators must perform their obligations between 1 October 2009 and 31 December 2012.
CESP will also contribute to the government's Fuel Poverty Strategy by requiring actions to be delivered in geographical areas selected using the Income Domain of the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) in England, Scotland and Wales. In England, the lowest 10 per cent of areas ranked in IMD will qualify and in Scotland and Wales the lowest 15 per cent of areas will qualify.
In the Heat and Energy Saving Strategy, the government set out a long-term vision of the continuous delivery of carbon savings from the domestic sector using some form of obligation until at least 2020. Energy efficiency is one of the most cost effective ways of achieving desired reductions in carbon emissions. Reducing energy consumption can also improve productivity and contribute to improved security of supply.