ABSTRACT
Energy Service Companies (ESCO) is a relatively new concept; it implies that a private operator agrees to carry out an energy optimisation of a building or other type of facility and accepts the risk for the customer having a lower energy consumption. The ESCO operator typically will be taking care of the operation in the contract period in order to live up to the guarantee made to the client about delivering lower energy costs. The payment for the service delivered is based on the achievement of energy efficiency improvements and on the meeting of the other agreed performance criteria. The original definition of ESCO involves third-party financing. The ESCO model typically provides a shorter analysis period and implementation period, which means that energy savings are achieved faster. A centralised Facilities Management department is often a prerequisite for being able to carry out an ESCO project, as opposed to an organisation where the individual municipal departments are building managers.
