Energy efficiency obligation schemes (EEOs) are used in many EU countries as a policy measure to reach energy efficiency targets. Some of the first EEO (UK, Italy, France, Denmark) have been capable to reach positive results over the years, as shown by the ENSPOL and EPATEE projects. The Italian mechanism, in particular, is an interesting example of white certificate scheme (WhC), since it is one of the most long-lasting schemes (operatively started in 2005), has ambitious targets, covers all sectors and energy efficiency solutions, and has many flexibility options in place (e.g. non-obliged parties, tradable market, bankability, etc.). Another point of interest is WhC development over the years. In the first phase, most of the projects were related to buildings with deemed savings as energy savings assessment method. Then the industrial sector rose constantly, till covering 80% of the savings in 2014, mostly assessed through metered savings procedures. In the last three years deemed savings procedures have started to recover, while metered savings have remained the most used energy savings evaluation procedure. This last development was not expected and is mainly due to some regulatory decision and to the modification of the assessment of additionality for many industrial projects categories, due to the diffusion of certain energy efficiency solutions and to changes in the methodological approach. The presentation, based on a paper presented at the IEPPEC conference in Vienna, illustrates the issues that have arisen over the recent years, and the decisions taken to address them through a major redesign of the Italian scheme that has been introduced with new ministerial guidelines in 2017: many aspects – such as targets, baseline and additionality, saving assessment, and measurement, verification and control procedures – has been deeply affected. The presentation will cover such themes under an evaluation point of view, highlighting the savings achieved with respect to the national targets, how indicators like additional energy savings, costs, and employment have evolved over time, the role of the involved stakeholders (utilities, ESCOs, end-users, etc.), and the effects of tight verification and control procedures.

1. White certificates in Italy:
lessons learnt over 12
years of evaluation
Dario Di Santo, FIRE
Vienna, 26 June 2018

2. X
www.fire-italia.org
The Italian Federation for the Rational use
of Energy is a no-profit association founded
in 1987 that promotes energy efficiency,
supporting energy manager, ESCOs and other
companies dealing with energy.
Besides the activities directed to its members,
FIRE operates under an implementing
agreement with the Ministry of Economic
Development to manage the Italian energy
manager network since 1992.
In order to promote energy efficiency FIRE
cooperates and deals with public authorities,
energy technology and service companies,
consultants, medium and large consumers,
universities and associations to promote best
practices and improve the legislation.
FIRE manages SECEM - an accredited body
under ISO 17024 - to certify Energy
management experts (EGE - UNI CEI 11339).
FIRE: the association for energy efficiency

3. X
FIRE: the association for energy efficiency
Some members of FIRE:
Sviluppo Sostenibile, Albapower S.p.A., Albasolar s.r.l., Alpiq Intec S.p.A., AMIA S.p.A.,
AMIAT S.p.A., Atlas Copco S.p.A., Avvenia s.r.l., Axpo Italia S.p.A., Azienda provinciale
per i servizi sanitari TN, Banca Mediolanum S.p.A., Banca Popolare di Sondrio, Beghelli
S.p.A., Berco S.p.A., Bit Energia s.r.l., Bosch Energy and Building Solutions Italy s.r.l.,
Brembo S.p.A., Cabot Italiana S.p.A., Carbotermo S.p.A., Carraro S.p.A., Carrefour
Italia S.p.A., Centria s.r.l., Comau S.p.A., Compagnia Generale Trattori S.p.A., Consul
System S.p.A., CPL Concordia soc. coop., Credito Emiliano S.p.A., CTI Energia e
Ambiente, DBA Progetti S.p.A., DNV GL Business Assurance Italia s.r.l., Edilvì S.p.A.,
Edison Energy Solutions S.p.A., Electrade S.p.A., Elettra - Sincrotrone Trieste S.p.A.,
Enarkè associati, Enel Energia S.p.A., Energhe S.p.A., Energika s.r.l., Energon Esco
s.r.l., Energy Saving s.r.l., Energy Team S.p.A., Engie Servizi S.p.A., ENI S.p.A., Estra
Clima s.r.l., Fedabo S.p.A., Fenice S.p.A., Ferrari S.p.A., Ferriere Nord S.p.A., Fiera
Milano S.p.A., Finco, Finstral AG S.p.A., Gewiss S.p.A., Gruppo Società Gas Rimini
S.p.A., Hera S.p.A., Hitachi Drives and Automation s.r.l., Holcim S.p.A., Ilsa S.p.A.,
Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A., Iplom S.p.A., IRBM Science Park S.p.A., ISAB s.r.l., Italcementi
S.p.A., Italgas Reti S.p.A., Italgraniti Group S.p.A., Kairos s.r.l., Lidl Italia s.r.l., Loclain
s.r.l., Manutencoop Facility Management S.p.A., Marche Multiservizi S.p.A., Mater-
Biopolymer s.r.l., Mediamarket S.p.A., MM S.p.A., Montello S.p.A., Munksjo Italia S.p.A.,
NBI S.p.A., Pasta Zara S.p.A., Politecnico di Torino - Dip. di Energetica, Polynt S.p.A.,
Publiacqua S.p.A., Raffineria di Milazzo S.C. p. A., RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana
S.p.A., Rete Ferroviaria Italiana S.p.A., Roquette Italia S.p.A., S.p.A. Egidio Galbani,
San Marco Bioenergie S.p.A., Sandoz Industrial Products S.p.A., Schneider Electric
S.p.A., SDA Express Courier S.p.A., Seaside s.r.l., Siena Ambiente S.p.A., Siram S.p.A.,
Solvay Energy Services s.r.l., Studio Botta, Tecno s.r.l., Thales Alenia Space Italia
S.p.A., Tholos s.r.l., Trenitalia S.p.A., Trenord s.r.l., Trentino Trasporti S.p.A., Turboden
s.r.l., Università di Genova - DITEN, Università Campus Biomedico, Università Cattolica
del Sacro Cuore, Wind Tre S.p.A., Yanmar R&D Europe s.r.l., Yousave S.p.A.
Our membership include organisations and
professionals both from the supply and the demand
side of energy efficiency services and solutions.
Other 450 members, almost equally
divided between organisations and
professional.

4. X
4
FIRE: the association for energy efficiency
Besides being involved in many European
projects, listed next, FIRE implement surveys
and market studies on energy related topics,
information and dissemination campaigns,
and advanced training.
Some of FIRE clients over the years: Ministry
of Environment, ENEA, GSE, RSE, large
organizations (such as Centria, ENEL, Ferrovie
dello Stato, FIAT, Finmeccanica, Galbani, H3G,
Poste Italiane, Telecom Italia, Unioncamere),
universities, associations, energy agencies
and exhibition organizers.
www.fire-italia.org
On-going and just completed EU projects:

5. The scheme basics: EEO + WhC trade
5
Demand
WhC is an EEO
DSOs have to meet
energy saving
targets
Certificates can be
traded on the market
Voluntary parties (small
DSOs, ESCOs and
companies with energy
management expert or
EnMS) can also obtain
certificates
Supply
WhC is partly an
incentive
1 WhC = 1
addi*onal toe
All sectors and all
energy efficiency
projects are
allowed.
Source: FIRE.
The Italian scheme is an EEO scheme with many flexibility options
(voluntary parties, exchange market, possibility for DSOs to achieve
60% of target to be recovered in the next 2 years, etc.).

6. Some base points under 2017 guidelines
6
Energy savings evaluation methods starting from May 2017:
Standard projects (SP – a mix of deemed savings and metered savings). Savings are
calculated based both on the installed units and the measurements done on a
statistically representative sample.
Monitoring plans projects (MPP – a type of metered savings). Savings are measured
according to an algorithm and a set of meters (both for energy consumption and
adjustment factors). With the new guidelines additional requirements were introduced
for the consumption baseline that has to be based on meters capable of at least daily
measures of the savings and on recorded data for at least one year.
WhC lifetime:
With previous guidelines: 5 years with tau coefficient.

7. Additionality
7
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Ex-ante baseline Adjusted baseline Market-adjusted
baseline
Standard-adjusted
baseline
Ex-post consumption
Energy consumption baselines and energy savings
Additional energy savings
Source: FIRE.
Non-additional energy savings
Steps:
evaluation of ex-ante
baseline through 1-year
measurements;
a d j u s t e d b a s e l i n e
(production, climate,
occupation, etc.), which
can be higher or lower
than ex-ante baseline;
evaluation of market
(average of actual market
offer) and standard
(minimum legislative
requirements) adjusted
baselines;
definition of additional
savings.
Activity to be done on a
per-project basis.
C l e a r l y a r e s t r i c t i v e
definition of additionality.
Evaluation of additionality starting from May 2017:

8. From EE project to white certificates
8
GSE first evaluates the
project proposal, then
t h e r e q u e s t f o r
c e r t i f i c a t i o n . B o t h
include a thorough
a n a l y s i s o f t h e
submitted documents
and of the proposed
algorithm, consumption
baseline, additionality,
meters, etc.
Proposals are submitted
through a web platform.
Even if a project is
approved, GSE can make
extended verifications.
Source: FIRE.

9. Verification process
9
Source: FIRE.
On-site verification has been used
less than expected, in fact,
especially with standard projects.
Documental verification are
usually quite demanding, leading
often to the rejection of the
proposal and to legal dispute (90
rulings of Lazio’s administrative
court, of which 58 in 2018 so far).

10. Public reports on verifications
10
http://bancadativerifiche.gse.it
All data about positive and
negative documental and
on-site verifications are
available.
In 2017 2,954 verifications
were implemented, of
which 37 on-site.
In the same year 1,539
verification procedures
were concluded, of which
9 7 % w i t h a n e g a t i v e
outcome and a request of
refund of 100 M€.
Most of the issues arose
from standard projects.

11. Outcomes of projects’ evaluation
11
The main issues incurred in the verification and control process are:
issues with consumption baseline and additionality (often not a clear aspect);
insufficient information and/or documentation on the project;
issues related to the closure or modification of plants prior the end of the technical life;
large frauds emerged in 2017 with SPs (around 700 million euros over WhC lifetime).
53%
38%
7% 1%
MPPs 2016: 815
Approved Rejected Other Under evaluation
Source: FIRE on GSE data.
81%
17%
2% 0%
CRs 2016: 11.709
Approved Rejected Other Under evaluation
Source: FIRE on GSE data.
54%
41%
4% 1%
MPPs 2015: 999
Approved Rejected Other Under evaluation
Source: FIRE on GSE data.
90%
7%
2% 1%
CRs 2015: 10.765
Approved Rejected Other Under evaluation
Source: FIRE on GSE data.
38%
49%
3%
10%
MPPs 2017: 364
Updated on June 14, 2018
Approved Rejected Other Under evaluation
Source: FIRE on GSE data.
59%
31%
5%
5%
CRs 2017: 5.339
Updated on June 14, 2018
Approved Rejected Other Under evaluation
Source: FIRE on GSE data.
38%
49%
3%
10%
PPPM 2018: 364
Updated on June 14, 2018
Approved Rejected Other Under evaluation
Source: FIRE on GSE data.
45%
1%1%
53%
CRs 2018: 1.145
Updated on June 14, 2018
Approved Rejected Other Under evaluation
Source: FIRE on GSE data.

12. 0
200
400
600
800
1.000
1.200
1.400
1.600
1.800
2.000
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
January2016
February2016
M
arch
2016
April2016
M
ay2016
June
2016July2016
August2016
Septem
ber2016
October2016
Novem
ber2016
Decem
ber2016
January2017
February2017
M
arch
2017
April2017
M
ay2017
June
2017July2017
August2017
Septem
ber2017
October2017
Novem
ber2017
Decem
ber2017
January2018
February2018
M
arch
2018
April2018
CRs
MPPs
Proposals presented 2016-2017-2018
MPPs MPPs (new guidelines) CRs
Source: FIRE on GSE data.
Proposals trend
12
Reduction of CRs and MPPs
due to the evolution of the
additionality requirements
and to the increasing
complexity of the rules.

13. WhC and EED art. 7 targets
13
0,0
5,0
10,0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
White certificates targets and achievements
(updated at the end of May 2018)
Target (million WhC) Updated targets (million WhC) Issued WhC 31/5-1/6 (million WhC) Savings (Mtoe)
FIRE on GME data.
Italian notification on EED art. 7:
25.8 Mtoe cumulated. In 2017
4.2 Mtoe cumulated delivered
through WhC (56%).
Two points to be noticed:
the growing residual target,
l i n k e d t o t h e u s e o f
flexibility from DSOs due to
insufficient supply;
the stagnating additional
energy savings (mainly due
t o e v o l v i n g r u l e s o n
eligibility and additionality).

14. WhC price over time
14
0
100
200
300
400
500
07/03/0607/06/0607/09/06
07/12/06
07/03/0707/06/0707/09/07
07/12/07
07/03/0807/06/0807/09/08
07/12/08
07/03/0907/06/0907/09/09
07/12/09
07/03/1007/06/1007/09/10
07/12/10
07/03/1107/06/1107/09/11
07/12/11
07/03/1207/06/1207/09/12
07/12/12
07/03/1307/06/1307/09/13
07/12/13
07/03/1407/06/1407/09/14
07/12/14
07/03/1507/06/1507/09/15
07/12/15
07/03/1607/06/1607/09/16
07/12/16
07/03/1707/06/1707/09/17
07/12/17
07/03/18
WhC'sprice(Euro/certificate)
Market session data
WhC market price trend
"May 31st session" "DSO's reimbursement" "Other fuels savings"
"Gas savings" "Electricity savings"
Source: FIRE evaluation based on GME data
Important points on market:
r e i m b u r s e m e n t f o r
obliged DSOs based on
previous year weighted
average market price;
three critical price periods
o v e r t i m e s h o w i n g
intrinsic instability.
1
2
3
Changes with new
guidelines:
no more tau coefficient;
longer WhC lifetime
(period over which
certificates are issued
based on measured
savings);
as a result, less
certificated per saved toe
(from 3,340 toe per
project to 277).

15. WhC market: handle with care!
15
Source: FIRE.
Attention must be placed in the
design of the market, especially if
a long time is needed before the
supply side can produce new
projects and/or if the obliged
subjects are reimbursed (instead of
passing the costs to their clients).
The impact of rules shall be
evaluated with care ex-ante, if
possible.
Frauds, which are a possibility
especially with simplified energy
savings procedures such as
deemed savings methodologies,
can rapidly change the amount of
white certificates on the market.

16. WhC scheme cost and other results
16
According to GSE fiscal
documents, the cost of
information, evaluation,
and control has been
around 14 million euros in
2016.
Other evaluation from GSE:
over 2 million additional
t o e / y e a r o f e n e r g y
savings;
over 6 million tCO2/year;
11,000 equivalent direct
and indirect jobs;
1 b i l l i o n e u r o s o f
investment;
0.7 billion euros of
added value.

17. Main results
17
Around 48 million WhC issued and 26 Mtoe delivered
by 2017;
ESCOs have been the main actor in presenting
projects both in terms of proposals (96%) and of toe
(70%, whereas 25% come from end-user companies
and 5% from DSOs);
≈60% of those savings have been metered and ≈57%
have been linked to monitoring plan projects;
Lot of data achieved through MPPs leading to a huge
and detailed projects’ database, even if some data are
not easy to categorise;
Capability to promote industrial energy efficiency
projects linked to manufacturing process
improvements;
Success in dealing with a growing proposals trend
(11,709 CRs presented in 2016 and 815 MPPs VS
≈150 in 2007 and ≈550 in 2012).
Over 12 years of working time (it’s the longer-life
scheme for energy efficiency available in Italy).

18. Main issues
18
Low materiality for industrial projects till 2013;
Over incentivising for some industrial projects initially
managed by modifying eligibility criteria, then by
changing additionality on-the-run (not good…), then
again through eligibility;
Consumption baseline requirements and proposals
deadline are quite strict with 2017 guidelines;
Additionality integrated in the scheme and evaluated
on a per-project basis is difficult to manage, especially
for industrial project, less standardised than buildings
and transport ones;
Complexity improves projects quality and qualifies
operators, but needs support in terms of information
and training;
Target setting is difficult and requires caution and/or
strong flexibility in place;
WhC market is theoretically a good concept, but
practically too inelastic to work outside equilibrium
Frauds can be a real issue with standardised projects.

19. The WhC legislative path
19
2004
D.Lgs. 79/1999
DSOs should be put
under an EE obligation
scheme.
1999
ARERA 103/03
WhC operative
guidelines.
2003
D.M. 24/4/2011
WhC scheme
introduction.
2001
Source: FIRE.
D.M. 20/7/2014
Targets fix and
improvements.
D.M. 21/12/2017
New guidelines
(targets,
reimbursement for
other fuels, etc.).
2007
ARERA 9/11
Introduction of the tau
coefficient.
2011
2017
D.M. 28/12/2012
New guidelines
(targets, new deadlines
for proposals, GSE as
managing authority,
etc.).
2012
D.M. 11/1/2017
New guidelines
(targets, new control
and verification
procedure, no more
tau coefficient, limits to
eligible projects, etc.).
D.M. XXX
New additionality,
enhanced flexibility for
DSOs, reimbursement
cap, etc.
2018
A complex scheme like the Italian WhC needs frequent updates
and fixes. Sought effects often require time to be obtained.

20. Conclusion
20
The Italian scheme faced in twelve years of activity
many issues. Some of them were solved, others were
unexpectedly created.
The scheme has succeeded in producing interesting
targets, covering a wide variety of sectors and
technologies, and in spreading the know-how of
industrial energy efficiency solutions among ESCOs
and practitioners.
The exhaustive information required to present
projects made the scheme complex and affected its
usability, but also provided reliable energy saving
assessment and a lot of data on the transformation
of the industrial sector.
The availability of a strong monitoring and of
continuous evaluation made by ARERA, GSE, ENEA is
a key aspect of the scheme.
Nevertheless, sufficient time and resources should
be devoted to the management and improvement of
such schemes, and that’s not something evaluation
can provide.

21. Abbreviation list
ARERA: Regulatory Authority for Energy, Grids, and Environment
CEI: Italian electrical standardization body
D.M. and D.Lgs.: ministerial and legislative decree
DSO: Distribution System Organisation
ENEA: Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic
Development.
EN: European technical standard
EnMS: Energy management system
ESCO: Energy Service Company
FIRE: Italian Federation for energy efficiency
GME: Electric market management body
GSE: Energy service management body
MATTM: Ministry of environment
MiSE: Ministry of economic development
RSE: Research on the electric system body
toe: ton of oil equivalent
UNI: Italian standardization body
WhC: White Certificate scheme 21

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