South Africa: The new looming deadline for businesses

published on 9 November 2022 | reading time approx. 2 minutes

Obtain an EPC or risk paying a fine of up to R5 million and imprisonment

On 8 December 2020, regulations were published under the National Building Regulations and Building Standard Act 1997, these regulations require public sector buildings greater than 1 000m² (one thousand square meters) and private sector buildings greater than 2 000m² (two thousand square meters) to publicly display their Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) by 7 December 2022. It must be noted that even if a building is privately owned, if it is occupied by an “organ of state” the size threshold becomes 1 000m² (one thousand square meters). An EPC provides an indication of a building’s yearly operational energy performance by measuring energy consumption per square metre per annum (kWh/m2/pa). The EPC ranks the energy rating of a building on a performance scale of A to G, with A being the most efficient and G the least efficient rating. Not all buildings are required to get an EPC. Factories and manufacturing plants do not require EPCs, however the following building occupancy classes must display an EPC by the December 2022 deadline:

(For optimal display of the table, we recommend using a desktop PC or tablet.)

Classes of occupy	A1	A2	A3	G1
	Entertainment and public assembly – occupancy where persons gather to eat, drink, dance or participate in other recreation. Example: restaurants, night-clubs, sports pubs, gyms.	Theatrical and indoor sport – occupancy where persons gather for the viewing of theatrical, operatic, orchestral, choral, cinematographical or sports performances. Example: movie theatres and live theatres.	Places of instruction – occupancy where school children, students or other persons assemble for the purpose of tuition or learning. Example: schools, universities and Technikons.	Offices – occupancy comprising offices, banks, consulting rooms and other similar usages. Example: stand alone building or a campus of buildings that form an office park but operate separately.

With regards to buildings with mixed occupancy (for example: a shopping centre, as it is comprised of restaurants, banks, movie theatres etc) the following 3 (three) questions must be asked when determining whether a building or a portion of the building will required certification:

Is the occupancy class of the building that needs an EPC greater than the minimum size threshold (For example: 2 000m² (two thousand square meters) for privately owned buildings)?
Is this occupancy class distinct, in other words, can a clear boundary be drawn around it? For example if restaurants are distributed throughout a shopping centre it cannot be said that a clear boundary can be drawn around them, despite them been in a distinct occupancy class A1.
Does this occupancy class consume more than 10 per cent of the total building’s energy consumption?

If the answer to all three questions is yes, then this portion of the building would most likely need to be certified.

How do you obtain an EPC certificate?

The EPC must be issued by a South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) accredited body and must also be submitted to the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI). In order to obtain an EPC the owner of a building needs to acquire the services of a SANAS accredited inspection body to do an assessment of the building and after the assessment, an EPC will be issued. A list of SANAS accredited inspection bodies can be found on: www.sanedi.org.za/SANAS_Cerificates.html

Non-compliance and penalties

It must also be noted that should the building owner fail to obtain and display the EPC the December 2022, they will be in contravention of the National Energy Act 34 of 2008, which may result in imprisonment of to 5 years and/or a fine of up to R5 000 000 (five million Rand).

The purpose of an EPC

The aim of an EPC is to provide building owners with an awareness of how they can be more energy efficient and to allow tenants and other building users to make more informed decisions about their occupancy and use of the buildings. In addition, purchasers will have a much more comprehensive overview of the energy use of a building and this may incentivize building owners to be as energy efficient as possible.

Conclusion

The regulations encourage landlords and tenants to identify the sources of the highest electricity consumption in their buildings and to implement alternatives that are more energy efficient thus improving overall efficiency and unlocking significant savings in the long-run.