Energy Audit of Large Enterprises: The Deadline Approaches, and the Obligation Depends on Total Energy Consumption

The energy audit of a large enterprise should not just be another regulatory obligation; with a good action plan, it can become a lever for reducing consumption, costs, and future investments.

How much energy does your company actually consume? If you have only looked at the electricity bill, the answer is probably incomplete.

The new Energy Efficiency Act observes total consumption through all energy sources used by the company: electricity, gas, vehicle fuel, thermal energy, steam, LPG, and other energy sources. Companies whose average annual final consumption exceeds 10 TJ, or approximately 2.78 GWh, are obliged to conduct an energy audit every four years, along with the development of an action plan for energy efficiency measures.

From Regulatory Obligation to Concrete Investment Decisions

The energy audit can be much more than a document required for legal obligations. Its real value lies in showing the company where it consumes energy, what can be changed, and how much individual investments actually pay off.

Based on data on consumption, facilities, processes, and other relevant parameters, an action plan for the next four years is developed, analyzing possible measures, their effects, priorities, and financing models. The company’s management is required by law to adopt and publicly disclose the action plan, which arises from the energy audit of the large enterprise and serves as a basis for making investment decisions, such as installing solar power plants, heat pumps, and other energy efficiency measures, as well as their financing models, including PPA models.

This is precisely the approach that E.ON is developing through the recently acquired company Tomting, one of the leading Croatian companies operating regionally in the field of energy efficiency. The expert team at Tomting consists of experienced engineers with many years of experience in energy certificates, audits of large enterprises, specialized energy audits, as well as certificate control and verification of project documentation and achieved savings. They have applied their knowledge and expertise to projects of some of the largest companies in the region.

– Our goal is not for the client to receive just a document from us to satisfy a legal obligation. We want them to get a concrete answer from the energy audit on what they can do to be more energy efficient and which investments truly pay off. The idea is simple: if the goal is to operate more energy efficiently, it doesn’t make much sense to stop at identifying where there is room for improvement. We want to help the client turn that space into a real investment – emphasize E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions Croatia and Slovenia.

How Long Does an Energy Audit Take?

The duration of the audit depends on the complexity of the business and the quality of the data the company has at the very beginning. The process begins with collecting data on consumption, facilities, processes, and vehicles, after which the expert team analyzes the situation and, if necessary, goes on-site.

For simpler systems, the audit can be completed in about a month, while for large and complex industrial systems, the process can take significantly longer. On average, an energy audit lasts two to three months.

That is why now is the right time for companies that have not yet started to check their energy status and initiate the audit process. More information about energy audits and opportunities for companies is available on E.ON’s website: Find out if you are obligated and request a quote for an energy audit.