10 August 2012: The International Energy Agency Demand Side Management Programme (IEA DSM) has published a report titled “Best Practices in Designing and Implementing Energy Efficiency Obligation Schemes (EEOs).” EEO are regulatory mechanisms that require obligated parties to meet quantitative energy saving targets by delivering or procuring eligible energy savings produced by implementing approved end-use energy efficiency measures.

The report covers 19 EEO schemes, implemented in a range of jurisdictions globally. Three broad types of EEO schemes are identified: schemes with quantitative energy saving targets, established relatively independently, often with their own enabling legislation; schemes with quantitative energy saving targets that are integral components of resource planning and acquisition by the obligated energy providers; and schemes with quantitative energy saving targets that have been established principally by governments as integral components of government policies.

The report outlines how the EEO schemes it covers actually operate by systematically classifying relevant information about the schemes into categories that apply to all the schemes. Through a comparative analysis of this information, the report identifies the best practices in designing and implementing an EEO scheme including: policy objectives; legal authority; fuel coverage; sector and facility coverage; energy saving target; obligated parties; compliance regime; performance incentives; and eligible energy savings. [Publication: Best Practices in Designing and Implementing Energy Efficiency Obligation Schemes (EEOs)]