Energy audit obligation as per Energy Services Act – Review by BAFA:

Immediately after the expiry of the deadline on 5.12.2015, the BAFA (Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control) started writing to selected companies who fall under the audit obligation to provide proof of the implementation of the energy audit. In this case, the company receives a letter with the login details for the electronic form “EDL-G – Verification for companies”. In this way all necessary information and documents are to be submitted within the specified period of time (usually 4 weeks).

Further questions will be put depending on how the company has complied with the audit obligation (Energy audit, EMAS and ISO 50001 or no obligation because SMES). This will also determine which documents to upload in a next step. At all events, the form “Confirmation of the Accuracy of the Information on the Electronic Form” is to be completed and uploaded.

Other possible documents to be requested by BAFA in case of an energy audit are the energy audit report and “Verification on implementation of the energy audit”. The BAFA recommends taking and keeping a screenshot of the completed form.

User information on the electronic form can also be found in the following BAFA document: “Nachweisführung für Unternehmen“ (verification for companies).

If the energy audit has not been conducted or not correctly/not completely/not on time, or if a company untruthfully claims that it is an SME, a fine of up to EUR 50,000 per company can be imposed. The BAFA has the means of dutiful discretion in imposing fines. When deciding on the amount of the fine, the BAFA will therefore check – also against the background of late implementation of EU stipulations by the Federal German Government – whether it was still reasonable to expect the company to implement the energy audit to schedule. For continuous non-compliance with the obligation, several fine notices can be issued.