Policy and Regulations
Due to the absence of clear government policy and energy saving incentives, 2006 was a year of standstill.
Energy Performance Label
In 2002 the European Union decided to introduce the Energy Performance Label (EPBD) in 2006. The EPBD is a certificate stating the energy qualification or energy efficiency of a home. Any party who sells or lets out a home or building is required to hand over an energy label to the buyer or new tenant. In 2005 the government decided to postpone this measure, which was initially scheduled to take effect in January 2006. The year of introduction is now 2007, with enforcement starting in 2008. This is the deadline year for the effectuation of this European measure by the member states.
The EPBD certificate does not in itself lead to energy savings. These are only achieved if a concrete improvement plan is linked to the report. The PEGO (Platform for Energy Transition of the Built Environment) has calculated that about 300,000 existing dwellings must be renovated and insulated annually in order to optimise all 3 million non- or poorly-insulated houses within ten years. At present insulation is taking place at a rate of 30,000 homes a year. Nuon believes that the target figure cannot be achieved without obliging consumers and housing associations to take measures. Therefore, in 2006 we again urged the Ministry of Economic Affairs to proceed with the early implementation of the EPBD in combination with supportive government measures.
Performance obligation
In the Energy Report 2005 the government indicated its intention to accelerate the pace of energy saving in the Netherlands. On 15 December 2006 the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment and the Ministry of Economic Affairs sent a letter to the Lower Chamber proposing to impose a performance obligation on the energy companies as a contribution towards the achievement of the higher energy saving target.
Given that it is not the energy supplier but the customer who opts for domestic energy-saving measures, EnergieNed had already presented the minister of Economic Affairs with a report entitled ‘Structurele energiebesparing in de gebouwde omgeving’ (Structural Energy Saving in the Built Environment) in May 2006. However, the alternatives put forward in this report did not meet the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ wish to impose a performance obligation on the energy companies.
EnergieNed is now advocating the creation of a platform in conjunction with Aedes (umbrella organisation of housing associations), Bouwend Nederland and PEGO with a view to fulfilling the performance obligation in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible. Nuon is positive towards this initiative.
