The first Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC) scheme ran from 2002 to 2005 and the second ran from 2005 to 2008. As with the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), an overall target was set by Defra, and this was apportioned to individual gas and electricity suppliers in relation to the supplier’s domestic consumer numbers, by Ofgem.
The forerunner of EEC was the ‘Energy Efficiency Standards of Performance’ (EESoP), which ran from 1994 to 2002 and was jointly developed and managed by Ofgem (initially Offer) and the Energy Saving Trust. EESoP1 ran from 1994 to 1998 and set targets for electricity suppliers, with the majority of measures being provided to disadvantaged customers.
EESoP2 ran from 1998 to 2000 with targets set for electricity suppliers. EESoP3 ran from 2000 to 2002, and extended the targets to gas, as well as electricity, suppliers. In both EESoP2 and EESoP3 the suppliers were required to focus around two thirds of their expenditure on disadvantaged customers.
EEC, while differing in several important ways, built on the success and basic methodology of EESoP. The targets for the first EEC were over three times those for EESoP3, and equivalent to around a 1 per cent reduction in carbon emissions from domestic sources.
EEC2 was the second phase of EEC and ran from 2005 to 2008. EEC2 had a similar structure to EEC although the target was more than double (130TWh). EEC2 required at least 50 per cent of the target to be met in relation to Priority Group consumers, defined as those in receipt of certain income-related benefits and tax credits.
CERT, the current energy efficiency programme, now counts savings in terms of carbon and has a target of 154 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (lifetime).