GEN – 922.00. On 30 November 2016, the European Commission presented a new package of measures with the goal of providing the stable legislative framework needed to facilitate the clean energy transition and towards the creation of the Energy Union. Some of the measures are now nearing their publication, including the revision of a few revised directives.

Directive 2018/844 amending Directive 2010/31 on the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD) and Directive 2012/27 on Energy Efficiency (EED)

This directive was published on 19 June 2018 and the deadline for transposition by the Member States is 10 March 2020.

The following amendments are covered by Directive 2018/844:

EPBD (2010/31)

• Clarification on definitions
• Long-term renovation strategy to be developed
• New Buildings to consider technical, environmental and economic feasibility of high-efficiency alternative systems, if available
• Technical building systems, electromobility and smart readiness indicator
• Inspection criteria for heating and air conditioning, introduction of considering the use of Building Automations Controls (BACs)for installations over 290KW by 2025
• Before 2020 a feasibility study will be made regarding the inspection of stand-alone ventilation and the development of a “building renovation passport” 

EED (2012/27)

The original article 4 on building renovation is (strangely) amended into: 

• A first version of the Member States’ long-term strategies for mobilising investment in the renovation of the national stock of residential and commercial buildings, both public and private, shall be published by 30 April 2014 and updated every three years thereafter and submitted to the Commission as part of the National Energy Efficiency Action Plans.’

It should be noted that the study on Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) has not yet yielded a final report. In principle this should become available in July 2018. The report should include a calculation methodology and streamlined catalogue of smart ready services. The third and last stakeholder meeting took place on 29 May 2018.

Agreements between the institutions 

By the end of June agreements between European Parliament, Council and Commission had been announced. The press releases are available. The texts of the compromises are expected to become available soon.

Summary contents revision Resource Efficiency Directive 2009/28

• The target for renewable energy for 2030 is 32%, with an upwards review clause for 2023.
• Member States should increase the share of renewable energy for heating and cooling by 1.3% annually for the period of 2021-2025, for the period covering 2026-2030 the calculation will be based on the level reached in 2020. 
• RES self-consumption from small renewable energy installations (less than 25 KW or 30 KW) will be exempted from paying grid charges.

Summary contents revision Energy Efficiency Directive 2012/27

• The target for energy efficiency for 2030 is 32,5%.
• The agreement extends the present annual energy saving obligation beyond 2020.
• Consumers should receive more frequent and useful information on their energy consumption by improved rules on individual metering and billing provisions.
• Member States are required to develop transparent, and publicly available national rules on the allocation of the cost of heating, cooling and hot water consumption in multi-apartment and multi-purpose buildings with collective systems for such services.
• During the stakeholder meeting on the revision of the ecodesign local space heater regulation on 22 June, DG Energy announced that the compromise would be to lower the PEF value: from 2,5 to 2,1. The text in the compromise text of 26 June reads: “For savings in kWh electricity Member States may apply a default coefficient of 2,1 or use the discretion to define a different coefficient provided they can justify it”.

Governance of the Energy Union

The Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union is part of the Juncker Commission priorities to build “a resilient Energy Union and a forward-looking climate change policy”. In its 2016 statement a reduction of Greenhouse Gases by at least 40% by 2030 was announced.

The agreement reached in June 2018 includes:

• Member States will have to prepare a national energy and climate plans for the period 2021 to 2030.
• The Commission will draft a proposal by 1 April 2019 to design a 2050 EU strategy for greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.
• Member states will have to present long-term decarbonisation strategies for 2050, in parallel with the 2030 plans they have already committed to prepare at national level.
• The RES and EED objectives will include targets that must be achieved collectively by the Member States with targets in 2022, 2025, 2027 and 2030. If a country is not on track, the Commission can intervene under a so-called “gap-filling mechanism”.
• On the EED target of 32,5%, the Member States have agreed on a similar timeline, but the Commission will assess the gap on a case by case basis.

Next steps

The three files are expected to be adopted in the European Parliament during its October 2018 Plenary Session. Thereafter adoption by the European Council will follow. The publication can be expected early in 2019.

Recommended Actions

The members are asked to take note of the revised EPBD. The implementation will take place at national level. 

The interested members can already have a more detailed look on the compromise texts.

Related documents and links

All related documents and articles can be found in the respective sections in the right sidebar.

• EPBD: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018L0844&from=EN
• Smart Readiness Indicator: https://smartreadinessindicator.eu/milestones-and-documents
• Compromise EED: http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10309-2018-INIT/en/pdf
• Compromise RES: http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10309-2018-INIT/en/pdf
• Compromise governance energy union: http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10307-2018-ADD-1/en/pdf
• EED Commission website: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/energy-efficiency/energy-efficiency-directive
• RES Commission website: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/renewable-energy/renewable-energy-directive
• Press release energy governance: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-4229_en.htm
• Press release EED: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-18-3997_en.htm
• Press release RES: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-18-4155_en.htm
• GEN – 903.00 – EPBD
• GEN – 904.00 – EED on PEF