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Summaries of EU Legislation

  • Archived: true

    • Energy efficiency

    SUMMARY OF:

    Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency

    Directive (EU) 2018/2002 amending Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency

    WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE DIRECTIVE?

    Directive 2012/27/EU, together with its amendment, aims to adapt EU energy law in line with the 2030 energy efficiency and climate goals and contribute towards the Energy Union strategy to:

    • reduce the EU’s dependence on imported energy;
    • cut emissions;
    • drive jobs and growth;
    • strengthen consumer rights; and
    • alleviate energy poverty.

    KEY POINTS

    Directive 2012/27/EU aimed to improve energy efficiency by 20% by 2020 compared to 1990 levels and included a requirement for all EU countries to set national energy efficiency targets to achieve this. It promotes energy efficiency1 across the EU through a common framework of measures covering every stage of the energy chain, from generation to distribution and final consumption.

    This directive, as revised by Directive (EU) 2018/2002, along with the revised Renewable Energy directive and a new Governance Regulation are part of the Clean Energy for All Europeans package.

    The main amendments to the 2012 directive include:

    • meeting a 32.5% energy efficiency target by 2030 and anticipating further improvements after that;
    • removing barriers in the energy market that obstruct efficiency in the supply and use of energy;
    • EU countries to set their own national contributions for 2020 and 2030;
    • from 2020, EU countries will require utility companies to help their consumers use 0.8% less energy each year (for Malta and Cyprus 0.24%), which will attract private investment and support new competitors in the market;
    • clearer rules on energy metering and billing, strengthening consumer rights, in particular for people living in multi-apartment buildings;
    • EU countries must have transparent, publicly available national rules on the allocation of the cost of heating, cooling and hot water services in multi-apartment and multi-purpose buildings where these services are shared;
    • strengthening social aspects of energy efficiency by taking energy poverty into account in designing energy efficiency schemes and alternative measures.

    FROM WHEN DOES THE DIRECTIVE APPLY?

    Directive 2012/27/EU has applied since and had to become law in the EU countries by .

    Directive (EU) 2018/2002 has applied since and mostly has to become law in the EU countries by . This is the case except for certain amended rules for which the deadline is . These concern:

    • metering for gas and electricity;
    • metering for heating, cooling and domestic hot water;
    • sub-metering and cost allocation for heating, cooling and domestic hot water;
    • remote reading requirement;
    • billing information for gas and electricity;
    • billing and consumption information for heating, cooling and domestic hot water;
    • costs of access to metering and billing information for electricity and gas;
    • cost of access to metering and billing and consumption information for heating, cooling and domestic hot water;
    • minimum requirements for billing and billing information based on actual consumption of electricity and gas (in Annex VII); and
    • new Annex VIIa on minimum requirements for billing and consumption information for heating, cooling and domestic hot water.

    BACKGROUND

    For more information, see:

    KEY TERMS

    1. Energy efficiency: the ratio of performance, services, goods or energy produced, for the amount of energy used.

    MAIN DOCUMENTS

    Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC (OJ L 315, , pp. 1-56)

    Successive amendments to Directive 2012/27/EU have been incorporated into the original document. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

    Directive (EU) 2018/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of amending Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency (OJ L 328, , pp. 210-230)

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