The communities of owners have a new ally to obtain income. It is the energy savings certificate (CAE), a system that works successfully in other countries, such as France, and that certifies the energy savings achieved after carrying out energy efficiency actions in a building. The best thing, and here is the novelty, is that these certificates, those savings obtained, can be sold. One CAE is equivalent to 1 kilowatt hour (KWh) of energy savings. That is, if a change to LED lights saves 100 KWh, 100 CAE will be issued (and can be marketed). This document, at the moment a great unknown to the neighbors because its implementation in Spain is very recent, will mark a turning point and a turning point. after. It is not just about reducing the energy bill, but about obtaining an economic compensation that until now they did not have. The CAEs function as a title or asset that can be monetized. That is, the certificates generated by a community of neighbors are sold—either directly or through intermediary companies—to the so-called obligated subjects: gas and electricity marketers, wholesale petroleum products operators, and wholesale liquefied petroleum gas operators. wholesalers, who are required by law to obtain a certain annual energy savings quota. In 2024, there are 706 companies, of which 455 have a total savings obligation of 4,299 gigawatt hours (GWh). Among them are Naturgy, Repsol, Iberdrola, Cepsa, EDP and many others less known to the general public. Until now, these obligated entities could only comply by depositing money into the National Energy Efficiency Fund (FNEE), which was created in 2014, It depends on the Ministry of Ecological Transition and aims to finance national energy efficiency initiatives. But in January 2023, the Government approves royal decree 36/2023, which establishes the CAE system. Now, these companies can fulfill their obligation either by paying money to the FNEE, as they already did, or by purchasing CAE from communities of owners or from companies in the transportation, industrial or tertiary sector. Obviously, obligated subjects will only choose to acquire certificates if it costs them less than paying the FNEE – the financial equivalence in the 2024 obligation order is 182 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) -.
The best offer
How much are the neighbors receiving? Until now the offers have ranged between 20 and 90 euros per CAE, always well below 182 euros. Communities will have to be able to negotiate, in the best possible way, the sale of their savings. With the current compensation of the CAE, “between 10% and 15% of the investment in this type of actions could be covered,” indicates Clara Pilar González-Pedraz, head of the Energy Unit at EQA Sistemas, an accredited verification company. Recently, the General Council of Associations of Property Administrators has agreed with Repsol on a payment of between 100 and 110 euros for CAE, although “there is no exclusivity in working with this company,” says treasurer Peio Mendia. The potential for neighbors is tremendous. “A community in Navarra that has made a ventilated façade has 10 CAE per floor, which is 1,000 euros per owner,” adds Mendía. The Government considers that the certificates will accelerate the implementation of energy efficiency measures in Spain and will facilitate compliance with the European savings goals for 2030, which are 3.4 times more ambitious than those set in 2020. “The origin of this type of tool is in the company, in the institution, in the individual, who decides to carry out an action of energy efficiency. «He is the first owner of the savings and this is important because it is not that someone imposes an obligation on me, but rather it is something that will allow me to generate an income,» highlighted the vice president and minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge Teresa Ribera in the presentation, on April 3, of the energy rehabilitation of the Teatro Real in Madrid, the first action that requested the issuance of CAE in Spain (with 963,159 CAE issued). Although the first certificates issued were those of a community of 1,200 homes and 29 buildings in Alcorcón (Madrid), which had a centralized gas system. “Aerothermal energy has been incorporated as the main heat generation system compared to gas boilers,” indicates José Sierra, director of R&D&i at Remica, a company accredited by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition to manage the CAE ( helps obligated subjects obtain certificates). The action, which has received 14 million euros from Next Generation funds and which has been verified by Eqa, has generated 8.78 million CAE, that is, it has produced savings of 8.78 million kWh per year, which have been sold to Repsol. “It represents an average economic benefit for the neighbors of 21% of the amount of the new installation,” says Sierra.Hybrid heating and domestic hot water system in a community in Alcorcón that has been the first to issue CAE. Federico Cerrato, property manager of the company Fisconta, has managed certificates this year for four residential buildings in the Madrid towns of Móstoles and Alcorcón, who have carried out the energy rehabilitation of the envelope (facade and roof). “At the first contact, they offered to sell me for 20 euros, but I did not accept it and continued negotiating with more companies. In the end I found an obligated party who pays 90 euros,” says Cerrato. The building at 2 Juan Ramón Jiménez Street, in Móstoles, has issued 232,403 CAE, which is equivalent to 232,403 KWh. The amount that the community of neighbors will charge for its marketing is 22,078 euros plus VAT. The work on Vizcaya Street, number 8, in Alcorcón, however, has generated 26,621 CAE, which have been sold for 2,527 euros. The certificates are in the verification process, so it is foreseeable that the neighbors will receive payment in June. “The buildings enjoy lower consumption due to the efficiency measure and, additionally, they can sell that title, which is the CAE, to an obligated entity,” summarizes Cerrato. In addition, the property manager recalls, “monetizing the CAE is compatible with the help of Next Generation funds.” Now, the income from the sale of these documents is not exempt from taxation and counts as capital gain in personal income tax, unlike European subsidies. Follow all the information from Economy and Business on Facebook and xor in our weekly newsletter