Energy management
Metering, audits, ESOS, ISO 50001, SECR energy reporting, measurement and verification, and a yearly plan of measures.
Environment Agency, ESOS Phase 4Energy consultants · management, audit and reporting
Energy management consultancy, not brokerage
Energy management consultancy is paid to measure, reduce and report energy use, which is a different job from buying energy, and the two are often sold under the same name.
UK SRS is an independent reference site. We have assessed no consultancy and publish no consultancy prices or rankings.
The work
What an energy management consultancy actually does
An energy management consultancy works on how much energy you use; an energy broker works on what you pay for each unit.
Both call themselves energy consultants, so the first question in any brief is which of the two you are buying.
Read the detailed guidance and references
An “energy consultant”
Energy procurement
Tendering supply contracts and arranging the switch, often paid by a commission added to the energy bill.
Ofgem, Third Party IntermediariesEnergy management advice is judged in kWh saved and duties met; procurement is judged on the unit rate and the contract terms.
The heat, fleet and power transition that follows an audit is covered on decarbonisation consultancy, and this page stays with ongoing energy management and audit.
Searches for an energy and carbon consultancy, an energy efficiency consultant or energy audit consultants are usually after the management side.
Use less, prove it, report itExplore
Module 01 / 04
Measure
Where energy goes, by site and purpose.
Module 02 / 04
Reduce
Rank and deliver savings.
Module 03 / 04
Verify
Show the saving with metering.
Module 04 / 04
Report
Meet the duties that apply.
Brokers
Energy consultants, brokers and commission
Ofgem calls brokers third party intermediaries and says a broker is paid either by a direct charge or indirectly, by a payment from the supplier “which is added to your bill”, in its guidance for microbusinesses.
Where the payment goes through the bill, “Information on TPI costs that will be included in the bill the supplier sends you must be provided to all businesses via the Principal Terms and upon request”.
Read the detailed guidance and references
The same page says “Ofgem do not regulate energy brokers” and “Ofgem does not license TPIs”, so the rules bite on the supplier, not the broker.
Since 1 December 2022 suppliers have had to work only with brokers signed up to a qualifying dispute scheme for microbusiness contracts, under Ofgem’s Microbusiness Strategic Review decision.
Ofgem’s 2024 non-domestic market review extended that rule to small business consumers and required suppliers to be transparent about broker commissions paid through the bill.
The government said on 23 October 2025 that it intends to appoint Ofgem as regulator of brokers, with an authorisation regime, when parliamentary time allows, in its consultation response.
Ofgem opened a market review of brokers on 4 June 2026 to gather evidence ahead of that regulation, so broker regulation is a plan, not yet law.
None of this applies to an energy management consultancy paid a fee for audits and advice, which is one more reason to know which you are hiring.
| Energy management consultancy | Energy broker (TPI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Paid for | Advice, audits, reporting | Arranging a supply contract |
| Usually paid by | A fee from you | A fee, or commission added to the bill |
| Judged on | kWh saved, duties met | Unit rate and contract terms |
| Ofgem rules | None specific | Through supplier licence conditions; direct regulation planned |
Ask how they are paidExplore
Module 01 / 04
Fee
Paid by you, directly.
Module 02 / 04
Commission
Added to your bill by the supplier.
Module 03 / 04
Disclosure
Broker costs in the principal terms.
Module 04 / 04
Redress
A dispute scheme for micro and small firms.
The cycle
Energy management as a yearly cycle
ISO describes ISO 50001:2018 as a framework “for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and improving an Energy Management System”, built on the Plan-Do-Check-Act model, on its catalogue page.
It tracks improvement with energy performance indicators and energy baselines, and ISO says it is technology-neutral.
Read the detailed guidance and references
Stage 1 of 6
Meter
Collect invoices, meter reads and half-hourly data by site and by purpose.
An energy management consultancy that leaves you with a report and no baseline, indicators or owner has done an audit, not energy management.
ISO 50001:2018 was last reviewed and confirmed in 2024 and remains current, so a proposal to “transition to a new ISO 50001” is confusing it with ISO 14001, which was revised in 2026.
Plan, do, check, actExplore
Module 01 / 04
Plan
Energy review, baseline and indicators.
Module 02 / 04
Do
Deliver the measures.
Module 03 / 04
Check
Measure and verify.
Module 04 / 04
Act
Review and improve.
ESOS Phase 4
ESOS Phase 4 and the energy audit
ESOS Phase 4 applies to an organisation with 250 or more employees, or with both turnover over £44 million and a balance sheet over £38 million, on the qualification date of 31 December 2026, under regulation 4 and Schedule 1.
The compliance date is 5 December 2027, and since 22 July 2026 the only routes are the ESOS energy audit and ISO 50001, under the 2026 amendment regulations.
Read the detailed guidance and references
Phase 4 adds a report of the energy savings actually achieved, measure by measure in kWh, and an explanation of planned measures that were not carried out.
The action plan lists the measures you propose, with dates and estimated savings in kWh, under regulation 34A, and is due by 5 December 2028 for 6 December 2027 to 5 December 2031.
Three annual progress updates follow, owed even if the plan proposed no measures, according to the Environment Agency’s guidance at §§13–14.
ESOS does not require any measure to be implemented, but the savings-achieved report makes an unimplemented plan visible.
The audit itself is explained on the ESOS energy audit, and the assessor market on ESOS consultants.
ESOS Phase 4, step by step
Step 1 of 5
Total energy consumption
Buildings, transport, industrial processes and other purposes, each with an intensity ratio.
Environment Agency Phase 4 guidanceNotification of compliance
By 5 December 2027, with savings achieved and the review of last phase’s plan.
SI 2014/1643 reg 4Action plan and updates
Plan by 5 December 2028; three annual progress updates.
ESOS reg 34A; EA §§13–14Audit, notify, plan, updateExplore
Module 01 / 04
Qualify
Size on 31 December 2026.
Module 02 / 04
Assess
Audit or ISO 50001.
Module 03 / 04
Notify
By 5 December 2027.
Module 04 / 04
Plan
Action plan by 5 December 2028.
ISO 50001
The ISO 50001 consultant and the ESOS route
Where ISO 50001 certification covers an organisation’s total or significant energy consumption, it is deemed to have appointed a lead assessor, carried out the ESOS audit and produced the ESOS report.
It must still notify compliance, and it still owes the action plan and progress updates.
Read the detailed guidance and references
Where certification covers only part of consumption, the deeming applies only to the certified part, and the rest must be audited by a lead assessor, according to the Environment Agency’s guidance.
An ISO 50001 consultant typically builds the energy review, the baseline and indicators, the procedures and the internal audit; a separate certification body certifies.
Ask which certification body is proposed, check its accreditation yourself, and ask whether it has any link to the consultancy that built the system.
The comparison between the two routes is on ISO 50001 versus ESOS.
A system, not a reportExplore
Module 01 / 04
Scope
Total or significant consumption.
Module 02 / 04
Certify
Accredited certification.
Module 03 / 04
Deemed
Lead assessor, audit and report.
Module 04 / 04
Still owed
Notification and action plan.
SECR
SECR energy and intensity reporting
A quoted company reports emissions, an aggregate energy figure in kWh and a description of its principal energy-efficiency measures, under Schedule 7 Part 7, ¶15.
An unquoted company is in scope only if it exceeds two of £36 million turnover, £18 million balance sheet and 250 employees, because ¶20B(2) exempts a company that meets two or more of turnover “not more than £36 million”, balance sheet “not more than £18 million” and “not more than 250” employees.
Read the detailed guidance and references
The directors’ report must state at least one ratio that expresses annual emissions against a quantifiable factor the company chooses, so there is no statutory energy-intensity ratio.
A company that consumed 40,000 kWh or less can leave the information out, if the report says that is why.
The emissions are calculated with the government’s conversion factors, and the UK electricity consumed factor is 0.14396 kgCO2e/kWh in the 2026 set and 0.19553 in the 2025 set, according to the DESNZ methodology papers.
That fall is mostly a cleaner grid, so an energy consultancy should report kWh beside tonnes, or a lower carbon figure can hide flat energy use.
The disclosure is set out on SECR requirements, and the advice market on SECR consultants.
Energy in the directors' reportExplore
Module 01 / 04
kWh
Energy use for the year.
Module 02 / 04
tCO2e
The emissions from it.
Module 03 / 04
Ratio
At least one intensity ratio.
Module 04 / 04
Measures
Principal efficiency action.
Climate Change Agreements
Climate Change Agreements: a discount, not a duty
A Climate Change Agreement is voluntary: a facility covered by one pays a reduced rate of Climate Change Levy, under Finance Act 2000 Schedule 6, paragraph 44.
The current scheme has three target periods: calendar 2026, 2027 to 2028, and 2029 to 2030, under SI 2025/813.
Read the detailed guidance and references
DESNZ says the scheme is administered through to 31 March 2033 and that all three periods are set against a 2022 base year, in its 2026 statutory guidance.
From target period 7 the buy-out price is a formula, and DESNZ’s Technical Annex works it to £37 per tonne of CO2 equivalent.
Energy management for a CCA facility is about meeting a target each period, which is why metering at the facility boundary matters.
The scheme is explained on Climate Change Agreements.
Targets for a lower levyExplore
Module 01 / 04
Eligible
An energy-intensive facility.
Module 02 / 04
Target
Energy or carbon, by period.
Module 03 / 04
Discount
Reduced Climate Change Levy.
Module 04 / 04
Shortfall
Buy-out by formula.
Metering and M&V
Metering and measurement and verification
The International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol, from the Efficiency Valuation Organization, sets four options for showing an energy saving.
Options A and B draw the measurement boundary round the equipment changed, Option C uses the meters for the whole facility, and Option D uses a calibrated simulation where baseline or reporting data are unreliable or unavailable.
Read the detailed guidance and references
Choosing the option before the work starts is what makes a later savings figure checkable.
Phase 4 now asks for the savings achieved in kWh, so an ESOS participant needs a way to show them, and an M&V plan is that way.
| IPMVP option | Boundary | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| A — Retrofit isolation: key parameter measurement | The equipment changed | A lighting change where power is measured and hours are estimated |
| B — Retrofit isolation: all parameter measurement | The equipment changed | A variable speed drive with its own meter |
| C — Whole facility | The whole site | Several measures across a building, read from utility meters |
| D — Calibrated simulation | Part or all of the site | No reliable baseline meter data, such as new construction |
Show the savingExplore
Module 01 / 04
Option A
Key parameter measured, others estimated.
Module 02 / 04
Option B
All parameters measured.
Module 03 / 04
Option C
Whole-facility meters.
Module 04 / 04
Option D
Calibrated simulation.
Let property
Let buildings and the EPC floor
In England and Wales the minimum level for privately rented property is EPC band E, under regulation 22(b) of the 2015 Regulations.
The government’s interim response of 18 June 2026 proposes EPC B from 2031 for non-domestic buildings over 1,000 square metres, where cost effective, and dropped the earlier 2027 EPC C milestone.
Read the detailed guidance and references
That is a proposal that needs secondary legislation, so an energy management consultancy pricing works against “EPC B law” is ahead of the law.
For a landlord, the audit and the EPC are different documents, and an energy consultant should say which improvements move the rating and which only cut bills.
A legal minimum for lettingsExplore
Module 01 / 04
Now
EPC band E, England and Wales.
Module 02 / 04
Proposed
EPC B from 2031 over 1,000 m².
Module 03 / 04
Dropped
The 2027 EPC C milestone.
Module 04 / 04
Exemptions
Registered, not assumed.
Before you call anyone
Briefing an energy management consultancy
Brief an energy management consultancy with your size, your reporting status, your sites and how you buy energy, because those decide the duties.
Answer the six questions and the panel lists the duties and schemes the work should cover, with the provision each comes from.
Read the detailed guidance and references
Attach your last ESOS report, SECR disclosure and half-hourly data, so nobody is paid to collect them twice.
Which energy duties apply to you?
ESOS Phase 4 audit
Your size on 31 December 2026 decides Phase 4; the audit route needs a lead assessor and a notification by 5 December 2027, then an action plan of measures, dates and kWh savings by 5 December 2028.
ESOS Regulations 2014 regs 4 and 34A; Environment Agency Phase 4 guidance
SECR
An unquoted company that exceeds two of £36m turnover, £18m balance sheet and 250 employees reports UK energy use in kWh, the emissions from it, an intensity ratio and efficiency measures; a company using 40,000 kWh or less in the UK can say so instead.
SI 2008/410 Sch 7 Part 7A, ¶¶20B, 20D(7)(a), 20G
ISO 50001
Optional: an energy management system to ISO 50001 is a way to run the work every year, and since 22 July 2026 it is the only alternative to the ESOS audit.
ISO 50001:2018; SI 2026/701
Energy buying
If a broker is paid through your bill, the supplier must show the broker’s costs in the principal terms, and for micro and small businesses the broker should belong to a dispute scheme; Ofgem does not yet license brokers.
Ofgem, Third Party Intermediaries guidance; supply licence conditions 7A and 20.5A
A scoping aid that gives no legal advice, no savings estimate and no supplier or firm recommendation.
Nothing you choose is stored or sent.
A scope worth pricingExplore
Module 01 / 04
Duties
ESOS, SECR, CCA, MEES.
Module 02 / 04
Sites
Meters, purposes and data.
Module 03 / 04
Outputs
Audit, plan, M&V, reports.
Module 04 / 04
Payment
A fee, with no commissions.
Due diligence
What to ask energy consultants before you appoint
Is the energy consultancy paid a fee by you, or does it earn commission on energy contracts, equipment or contractors it recommends?
Which savings figures will be measured, with which IPMVP option, and which are estimates?
Read the detailed guidance and references
If ESOS applies, is the lead assessor on an approved register, and have you checked it yourself?
Who owns the meter data, the baseline model and the action plan at the end?
The ESOS assessor market is covered on checking who you hire for ESOS, and the wider process in choosing a sustainability consultant.
What this page does not do
It names no firm, quotes no price, ranks nobody, estimates no savings and describes no consultancy as assessed.
Test the proposalExplore
Module 01 / 04
Payment
Fee, commission, or both?
Module 02 / 04
Evidence
Which savings are metered?
Module 03 / 04
Assessor
On an approved register?
Module 04 / 04
Handover
Who owns the data?
Illustrative brief · no consultancy assessed
A worked brief: a multi-site group facing ESOS Phase 4
A group with 600 staff across twelve sites, which bought its energy through a broker last year, wants energy management support before its Phase 4 notification.
The brief separates the energy management consultancy work, paid by fee, from the energy contract, and asks for the route decision, the audit or ISO 50001 scope, an M&V plan and the action plan.
View the workflow diagram
- 1
Data
Meter and invoice data by site and by purpose.
- 2
Route
Audit or ISO 50001, decided before the qualification date.
- 3
Proof
An M&V plan so savings achieved can be shown in kWh.
Each date has a different meaning
The relevant dates, in order
Check who each date applies to and whether it is a rule, a deadline or a proposal.
- 1 December 202201
Broker dispute schemes
Suppliers work only with brokers in a qualifying dispute scheme for microbusiness contracts. - 22 July 202602
- 31 December 202603
- 2027 to 202804
- 5 December 202705
- 5 December 202806
- 2031 (proposed)07
A suggested delivery sequence
From the brief to the handover
This is an editorial buying and preparation sequence, not a statutory timetable or a promise about how long the engagement takes.
- 01 / Duties01
Duties
Confirm which of ESOS, SECR, CCA and MEES apply, and the dates. - 02 / Data02
Data
Collect meter, invoice and half-hourly data by site and purpose. - 03 / Audit03
Audit
Survey, rank measures, and set the baseline and indicators. - 04 / Plan04
Plan
Choose measures, owners, dates and an IPMVP option for each. - 05 / Report05
Report
Verify savings, report under each duty and hand over the data.
Frequently asked
Energy management consultants, answered
What does an energy management consultant do?
An energy management consultant helps an organisation measure where its energy goes, find and rank savings, meet the energy duties that apply to it, such as ESOS and SECR, set up metering and verification, and run the work as a yearly cycle, often to ISO 50001.
Buying energy at the best price is a different service, usually sold by a broker.
Is an energy consultant the same as an energy broker?
Often not.
Many firms that call themselves energy consultants are brokers, or third party intermediaries, that arrange supply contracts and are paid by commission through the bill.
An energy management consultancy is paid to reduce and report energy use.
Some firms do both, so ask how each service is paid for.
How are energy brokers paid?
Either by a direct fee or by a commission the supplier adds to the energy bill.
Where the commission goes through the bill, Ofgem’s rules require the supplier to show the broker’s costs in the principal terms of the contract and on request.
Ofgem does not currently license or regulate brokers themselves, and the government intends to make it their regulator.
Does ESOS Phase 4 apply to us?
ESOS applies to an organisation that, on 31 December 2026, has 250 or more employees, or has both turnover over £44 million and a balance sheet over £38 million, with group aggregation.
The compliance date is 5 December 2027 and the action plan is due by 5 December 2028.
Can ISO 50001 replace an ESOS audit?
Yes, where certification covers your total or significant energy consumption: you are then deemed to have appointed a lead assessor, carried out the audit and produced the ESOS report.
You still notify compliance and owe the action plan.
Since 22 July 2026 the audit and ISO 50001 are the only Phase 4 routes.
What energy does SECR make a company report?
A quoted company reports global emissions, an energy figure in kWh, at least one intensity ratio and the principal energy-efficiency measures taken.
An unquoted company in scope reports its UK energy use, the emissions from it, an intensity ratio and its measures.
A company using 40,000 kWh or less can say so instead of disclosing.
What is measurement and verification?
Measurement and verification is how savings are shown rather than assumed.
The IPMVP, from the Efficiency Valuation Organization, sets four options: two isolate the equipment changed, one uses whole-facility meters, and one uses a calibrated simulation where data are missing.
Is a Climate Change Agreement the same as ESOS?
No. A Climate Change Agreement is a voluntary scheme in which an eligible facility agrees energy or carbon targets in return for a lower Climate Change Levy rate.
ESOS is a mandatory audit duty and SECR a mandatory disclosure; one does not satisfy the others.
How much does energy management consultancy cost?
This site publishes no prices and has assessed no consultancy.
Ask for days by grade, the deliverables named, which savings will be measured and how, and whether the firm earns anything from energy contracts, equipment or contractors it recommends.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
Checked against 20 sources fromOfgemDepartment for Energy Security and Net Zerolegislation.gov.ukEnvironment AgencyInternational Organization for StandardizationEfficiency Valuation Organization
- OfgemThird Party Intermediaries: what your microbusiness needs to know
Broker costs in the principal terms; “Ofgem do not regulate energy brokers”.
- OfgemDecision on the Microbusiness Strategic Review (2022)
Suppliers to work only with brokers in a qualifying dispute scheme, from 1 December 2022.
- OfgemNon-domestic market review: decision (April 2024)
Broker redress extended to small business consumers.
- Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroRegulating third-party intermediaries in the retail energy market: government response (23 October 2025)
Ofgem to be appointed regulator when parliamentary time allows.
- OfgemThird-party intermediaries (TPIs) market review: call for input (4 June 2026)
Evidence gathering ahead of regulation; closed July 2026.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2014/1643 regulation 4
Phase 4: qualification date 31 December 2026, compliance date 5 December 2027.
- legislation.gov.ukThe ESOS (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/701)
In force 22 July 2026: audit or ISO 50001 only; savings achieved reported.
- legislation.gov.ukThe ESOS Regulations 2014, Part 6A, regulation 34A
What an action plan contains: measures, dates and estimated savings in kWh.
- Environment AgencyHow to comply with ESOS phase 4, §§13–14
Action plans due 5 December 2028; three progress updates.
- International Organization for StandardizationISO 50001:2018 Energy management systems — Requirements with guidance for use
Last reviewed and confirmed in 2024; one amendment.
- Efficiency Valuation OrganizationInternational Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP)
Options A to D for measuring energy savings.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2008/410 Schedule 7 Part 7 (quoted companies)
Emissions, an energy figure in kWh and efficiency measures, ¶15.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2008/410 Schedule 7 Part 7A and ¶20B (unquoted companies)
In scope above two of £36m turnover, £18m balance sheet and 250 employees.
- legislation.gov.ukFinance Act 2000, Schedule 6, paragraph 44
The reduced-rate Climate Change Levy for a facility under an agreement.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2025/813 regulation 2 (target periods 7 to 9)
2026; 2027 to 2028; 2029 to 2030.
- Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroClimate Change Agreements: statutory guidance 2026
Scheme administered through to 31 March 2033.
- Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroClimate Change Agreements: Technical Annex (February 2026)
The TP7 buy-out price worked to £37 per tonne CO2e.
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero2026 GHG conversion factors: methodology paper, Table 9
UK electricity consumed: 0.14396 kgCO2e/kWh.
- legislation.gov.ukThe Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, Part 3
The minimum level is EPC band E (reg 22(b)).
- Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroMEES in the non-domestic private rented sector: interim response (18 June 2026)
EPC B from 2031 over 1,000 m², proposed.
Continue reading
Read next
ESOS
The ESOS energy audit
What the audit must cover and who signs it.
Assessors
ESOS consultancy
Checking who you hire for ESOS.
ISO 50001
ISO 50001 versus ESOS
When certification replaces the audit.
SECR
SECR requirements
Energy, emissions and the intensity ratio.
CCA
Climate Change Agreements
The levy discount and its target periods.
Transition
Decarbonisation consultancy
Heat, fleet and power after the audit.