You should use estimated data to determine the amount of energy supplied to your organisation when there is no actual meter or other readings available.
An estimate may be necessary when preparing to register for CRC, and when preparing your footprint and annual reports, which are requirements under CRC.
Annex E of the CRC guidance explains when a supply must be considered as an estimate under CRC, and describes techniques for estimation that are appropriate for different circumstances. The affect of an estimate on total emissions is also explained.
Some of the common questions on estimated and actual supplies are below.
If I have my own readings from meters do I use these or billed data from suppliers?
Where data is available from your own readings of meters and/or downloaded data from Automatically Read Meters (AMR) then this can be used for reporting your energy use. If you are using your own data your evidence pack must contain the primary evidence for this data and the process by which the meters are read and the data is collected and recorded.
If my annual statement from my supplier shows the supply to be estimated, does this mean the supply must be estimated for CRC purposes?
If your annual supply data indicates the supply is estimated, but you have supply data which gives actual readings and these satisfy the CRC requirements for actual meter reading data then your supply will be an actual supply.
If I have installed Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) but due to failures I have not read the data. Can I estimate the amount of supply through the AMR for Early Action Metric (EAM) purposes?
To qualify as an AMR the meter must have been read remotely. The reading can take place at any time up until the supply is claimed as AMR in the annual report. If the meter has not been read remotely then it cannot be claimed as an AMR. You will not be able to estimate the supply that has gone through the AMR for EAM purposes.
Once the meter has been read remotely, either by the participant or a third party on their behalf, including the supplier, then all the data supplied by the meter on a half hourly basis can be used for the AMR element of the EAM.
I have Half-hourly meters (HHMs) installed but the data from the supplier is estimated. Do I count this as estimated supply?
If the supply is measured by a mandatory half-hour meter the supply is measured half hourly. You will need to contact your supplier to obtain the data as this will normally be adequate to count as actual supply data. The suppliers sometimes apply the term 'estimate' to actual readings if they were not taken within a certain number of days of the billing date.
How is the 10 per cent estimation uplift applied to different fuel types?
If a supply of electricity or gas has had to be estimated* for part of the year, then the whole of that supply for the year will be considered to be an estimated supply. You should enter the whole of the supply in the estimated column in the annual report.
For other fuels it is only the estimated* portion of the supply that has to entered as estimated. For the portion of the supply with actual readings this will be entered as actual quantities.
*A supply is considered to be actual if there have been a minimum of two meter readings covering a period greater then six months of any annual reporting year. Otherwise, it is an estimated supply for CRC purposes.
Full details of estimated and actual supplies is available in Annex E of the CRC Guidance.
