rec_20

(20) An assessment of the possibility of establishing a ‘white certificate’ scheme at Union level has shown that, in the current situation, such a system would create excessive administrative costs and that there is a risk that energy savings would be concentrated in a number of Member States and not introduced across the Union. The objective of such a Union-level scheme could be better achieved, at least at this stage, by means of national energy efficiency obligation schemes for energy utilities or other alternative policy measures that achieve the same amount of energy savings. It is appropriate for the level of ambition of such schemes to be established in a common framework at Union level while providing significant flexibility to Member States to take fully into account the national organisation of market actors, the specific context of the energy sector and final customers’ habits. The common framework should give energy utilities the option of offering energy services to all final customers, not only to those to whom they sell energy. This increases competition in the energy market because energy utilities can differentiate their product by providing complementary energy services. The common framework should allow Member States to include requirements in their national scheme that pursue a social aim, in particular in order to ensure that vulnerable customers have access to the benefits of higher energy efficiency. Member States should determine, on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria, which energy distributors or retail energy sales companies should be obliged to achieve the end-use energy savings target laid down in this Directive. Member States should in particular be allowed not to impose this obligation on small energy distributors, small retail energy sales companies and small energy sectors to avoid disproportionate administrative burdens. The Commission Communication of 25 June 2008 sets out principles that should be taken into account by Member States that decide to abstain from applying this possibility. As a means of supporting national energy efficiency initiatives, obligated parties under national energy efficiency obligation schemes could fulfil their obligations by contributing annually to an Energy Efficiency National Fund an amount that is equal to the investments required under the scheme.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-28 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.