Energy Efficiency
Author: South African National Accreditation System
( Article Type: Explanation )
The Energy Efficiency Tax Incentive – 12-L of the Income Tax Act (Act 58 of 1962)
In an effort to promote energy efficiency, government has finalised a tax incentive to companies that effectively initiate energy saving projects in their businesses, based on the South African National Standard for Measurement and Verification of Energy Savings, SANS 50010:2011. The Energy Efficiency Measurement and Verification (M&V) bodies accredited by the South African National accreditation Body (SANAS) are tasked with verifying the savings of companies that wish to apply for this tax incentive. They need to ensure that companies are in fact implementing the energy savings initiatives they claim to.
Components of an Energy Efficiency Measurement and Verification (M& V) Process
Energy Efficiency Measurement and Verification (M&V) refers to the physical measurement of parameters in order to verify the energy savings achieved. While that definition is simple enough, the practise of performing M&V is more complicated and detailed. The reason for the detail is to ensure an impartial, credible, transparent assessment of savings
The important components of the energy efficiency measurement and verification process are:
- the formulation of an M&V plan,
the establishment of a baseline, and
the performance assessment after the implementation.
Each step of the process emphasises stakeholder engagement to ensure transparency and the M&V Plan and Baseline Report in particular, require sign off from all stakeholders before the process can proceed. This is to ensure, what is the most important aspect of M&V namely, credibility. This process is described in a national standard, SANS 50010.
