The Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2022

CHAPTER 2 Requirements for a full project score

Requirements for a full project score: overview

49.—(1) An ECO4 project meets the requirements of this article if the Administrator is satisfied that—

(a) the project meets the minimum requirement for energy efficiency improvement in article 50;

(b) the project meets the requirement concerning the post-project energy efficiency assessment in paragraph (3); and

(c) the only changes made to the domestic premises between the pre-project energy efficiency assessment and the post-project energy efficiency assessment which would increase the SAP rating of the premises, as determined pursuant to those assessments, are the qualifying actions in the ECO4 project.

(2) Paragraph (1)(b) and (c) do not apply to an ECO4 project which consists of one or more data light measures only.

(3) An ECO4 project meets the requirement concerning the post-project energy efficiency assessment if—

(a) where the project consists of a district heating connection only or a district heating connection and one or more novel data light measures only—

(i) a SAP assessment is performed after the completion of the project for the purpose of calculating the SAP rating of the premises; and

(ii) an energy performance certificate based on the SAP assessment is issued;

(b) in any other case, an RdSAP assessment is performed after the completion of the project for the purpose of calculating the SAP rating of the premises.

(4) In paragraph (3), references to a “district heating connection” do not include a connection to a district heating system that uses a shared ground loop.

ECO4 projects: minimum requirement for energy efficiency improvement

50.—(1) An ECO4 project meets the minimum requirement for energy efficiency improvement in this article if it meets—

(a) condition A;

(b) where the participant’s exempted project allowance is not exhausted, condition B; or

(c) condition C.

(2) Condition A is met if the Administrator is satisfied, in relation to the domestic premises, that—

(a) if the pre-project SAP band is band D or E, the post-project SAP band is band A, B or C;

(b) if the pre-project SAP band is band F or G, the post-project SAP band is band A, B, C or D.

(3) Condition B is met if—

(a) the pre-project SAP band for the domestic premises is band E, F or G; and

(b) the Administrator is satisfied that—

(i) the ECO4 project could not meet condition A because—

(aa) to do so would require the installation of one or more measures which attract an exemption under Part 11; or

(bb) there is no combination of ECO4 eligible measures that would have enabled the project to meet condition A; and

(ii) as compared to the measures in the ECO4 project, no other combination of ECO4 eligible measures, excluding those attracting an exemption under Part 11, would have resulted in a larger increase in the SAP rating for the premises.

(4) Condition C is met if, in the case of domestic premises that have a pre-project SAP band of E, F or G, the Administrator is satisfied that neither condition A nor condition B could be met because there has been a change in the people who are occupying the premises.

(5) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), a participant’s exempted project allowance is not exhausted if X is less than the participant’s exempted project allowance, where “X” is the number of ECO4 projects promoted by the participant—

(a) which meet condition B in paragraph (3); and

(b) for which the Administrator has given a positive score under article 47(1)(b) before the ECO4 project in question.

(6) In this article, “post-project SAP band” has the meaning given in article 51.

Determination of the post-project SAP band

51.—(1) For the purposes of article 50, “post-project SAP band” means the SAP band which is to be determined for the domestic premises by the Administrator—

(a) either—

(i) pursuant to any post-project energy efficiency assessment referred to in article 49(3);

(ii) where the ECO4 project includes the installation of a data light measure or a standard alternative methodology measure to which paragraph (2) applies, by using the energy cost rating equations and the adjusted cost savings for the data light measure or standard alternative methodology measure to calculate the change in the SAP rating of the premises following the installation of the measure; and

(iii) where the ECO4 project includes the installation of a DHC alternative methodology measure, by using the energy cost rating equations and the result of the following formula to calculate the change in the SAP rating of the premises following the installation of the measure—

DHCalt – DHCstandard; or

(b) where the ECO4 project consists solely of data light measures to which paragraph (2) does not apply, by treating the post-project SAP band as being the same SAP band as the pre-project SAP band.

(2) This paragraph applies to a data light measure or a standard alternative methodology measure which—

(a) in the case of a data light measure, is within the participant’s data light measure allowance; and

(b) is not—

(i) the replacement of an efficient boiler with another efficient boiler; or

(ii) the replacement of an efficient heating system with another efficient heating system of the same kind.

(3) For the purpose of paragraph (2)(a), the Administrator is to determine whether a data light measure is within a participant’s data light measure allowance in accordance with article 52.

Determination whether a measure is within the data light measure allowance

52.  For the purposes of article 51, a data light measure is only within a participant’s data light measure allowance if X is less than the participant’s data light measure allowance, where “X” is the sum of—

(a) the number of data light measures which are—

(i) qualifying actions forming part of an ECO4 project promoted by the participant for which the Administrator has given a positive score under article 47(1)(b) before the ECO4 project in question; and

(ii) of the same data light measure description as the data light measure in question;

(b) the number of data light measures which are—

(i) qualifying actions promoted by the participant for which the Administrator has given a positive score under article 47(1)(c)(i) or (ii) before the ECO4 project in question; and

(ii) of the same data light measure description as the data light measure in question.