RHI participants read this – important information on audits and ongoing obligations

The WHA recently sat in on the inaugural meeting of the RHI Industry Forum a new initiative co-ordinated by Ofgem. The meeting included an update on compliance and enforcement and provided some interesting information on the auditing programme.

So far, there have been around 500 audits. The number one issue identified by the auditors where an RHI participant was failing to comply with the scheme rules is the lack of fuel records. The Ofgem officials involved said that around 70% of all users audited were found wanting in this capacity.

Other issues that frequently crop up during audits of non-domestic systems are:

• Meter component installed incorrectly
• Meter reading/Periodic date submission errors
• Major errors in the schematic diagram
• Heat losses are not properly accounted for
• External pipework not declared

The most frequent non-compliances in domestic systems include:

• Evidence of installation not provided
• Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) Certificate handover pack missing or showing incorrect information
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) contains incorrect information
• Use of ineligible fuel in biomass projects
• Ofgem not informed of a transfer of ownership when a property is sold

If you are worried you’re not complying with the RHI rules then your first port of call should be the Non Domestic RHI Easy Guide to Compliance which provides information on all the things you need to do during the 20 years of your non-domestic RHI agreement.  You should also consult the Guide to keeping fuel records. This was produced in 2015 and needs an update but is a useful document as it provides examples of the type of fuel log books that would satisfy the auditors.

For Domestic RHI projects you’ll find the information you need on the Ongoing Obligations pages.