Made in Group members attended a virtual Q&A with Energy Expert, from Control Energy Costs, Liam Conway to learn more about Climate Change Agreements (CCA) and how they could help certain manufacturers save thousands.
Control Energy Costs are energy and water consultants, providing tailor made utility management, procurement and support services to businesses that have become disillusioned with using an energy broker or third-party intermediary. Patrons of Made in the Midlands and Made in Yorkshire, the firm works with 138 of the Made in Group members, offering service and advice on their energy usage and more.
A Climate Change Agreement (CCA) is a formal agreement whereby certain industries are eligible to pay a reduced climate change levy, otherwise, known as a CCL.
The CCL is an environmental tax for non-domestic consumers of energy and is charged against each kWh of energy used. Overtime, CCL has been slowly increasing, and this puts additional financial pressure on businesses that are energy-intensive.
In a video published by Control Energy Costs, they state that if a company used 1,000,000 kWh they would currently need to pay over £8,000 in CCL fees.
However, certain sectors can arrange to have CCA put in place and this gives them a significant reduction on the CCL part of their energy bill. For example, the £8,000 CCL would be reduced to £560 if there was a CCA in place.
The main manufacturing processes eligible are steels, ceramics, chemicals, food and drink, glass, plastics, and agriculture. However There are 53 sectors eligible to apply for CCA, Liam explained:
“Climate change agreements are put in place with an agreed energy sector reduction percentage. To benefit from the agreements businesses have to enter into their collective agreement and use less energy. Otherwise they would have to use the same amount of energy and produce more goods.”
Organisations such as the British Plastics Confederation, The Confederation of British Metal Forming and Surface Finishing Confederation administer CCA.
Mineralogical and metallurgical processes are slightly different. These aren't administered by trade bodies but rather a collective agreement. The processes eligible are outlined in a 15-page HMRC guide.
This allows you to pay a reduced amount of CCL moving forward, as well as claiming a back date of CCL charges that businesses have made.
With CCA in place manufacturers could be saving up to 92% on electricity and 81% on Gas. Mineralogical and metallurgical processes, could be saving a 100% discount on both.
Applications for CCA close by 30th November 2020 and Control Energy Costs can help with this by creating an application on a businesses’ behalf. On top of this the firm also manages the scheme compliance and reporting as well analyse energy consumption and offer advice on energy saving.
If you think Control Energy Costs could help you, you can contact Liam Conway, Head of Business Development, at [email protected]. Watch the Control Energy Costs Q&A on Climate Change Agreements.