Energy Services as an Integral Part of the Distribution

Status

completed

Summary

The study on hand is based on Directive 2006/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2006 on energy end-use efficiency and energy services and repealing Council Directive 93/76/EEC, which was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 27 April 2006.

Pursuant to the definition in the EU Directive, an energy service is invariably an inseparable combination of energy delivery and a service or in-kind benefit directly leading to energy efficiency improvement and/or primary energy savings.

In Austria as well as in other EU member states and Switzerland energy services are currently a niche product offered by on-grid energy suppliers. Energy supply continues to be their core product.

Suppliers mainly offer installation contracting, in rare cases they also provide energy-efficiency contracting. There are partnerships for energy services involving energy service providers or installers but there are also energy suppliers able to offer energy services largely without co-operation partners.

The study discusses and presents further potential integrated energy services to be offered, benefits and opportunities which open up to on-grid energy suppliers if they offer energy services (more competitive edge, improved marketing of energy services in comparison with energy sales -> quality competition etc.), as well as the obstacles (e.g. lack of customer acceptance, major capital requirements) and the experiences of on-grid energy suppliers.

The study also dealt with the current legislative framework to be considered by the on-grid energy supply companies when providing energy services, and an estimate of the market volume for integrated energy services.

One of the outcomes is that the energy supply company involved in the project, oekostrom AG, plans to add two integrated energy services to its product portfolio in 2007. These are the services "Reduced standby consumption" and "Rental of energy-efficient household appliances". Both are to be marketed in households, a customer segment hitherto hardly tapped into in the context of energy services.

A Guide for Interested Energy Supply Companies, which is available from FFG, was compiled on the basis of the results of the study.

Project management

Dipl.-HTL-Ing. Claudia Rosmanith, TPA Energie- und Umwelttechnik GmbH

Project partners

• DENKSTATT Umweltberatung und -management GmbH
• oekostrom AG

TPA Energie- und Umwelttechnik GmbH
Dipl.-HTL-Ing. Claudia Rosmanith
Laxenburger Straße 228, 1230 Wien
T: +43 (1) 6163899-151
F: +43 (1) 6163899-140
E-Mail: claudia.rosmanith@tpa.at