CESP

The Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) was been created as part of the government’s Home Energy Saving Programme (HESP).

The CESP obligation period ran from 1 October 2009 to 31 December 2012 and the Order required all licensed gas and electricity suppliers that had at least 50,000 domestic customers and all licensed electricity generators that had generated on average 10 TWh/yr or more in a specified three year period, to meet a carbon reduction obligation.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) were responsible for setting the overall CESP target and the policy framework with Ofgem responsible for administering the programme.

The Order required the UK’s main energy suppliers and (for the first time) electricity generators to comply with an overall carbon emissions reduction target of 19.25 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO2).

CESP promoted a “whole house” approach i.e. a package of energy efficiency measures best suited to the individual property.

The programme was delivered through the development of community-based partnerships between Local Authorities (LAs), community groups, energy companies and key suppliers such as Wetherby, via a house-by-house, street-by-street approach. This partnership allowed CESP to be implemented in a way that was best suited to individual areas and coordinated with other local and national initiatives.