Changes to electricity emissions factors, and incandescent lighting and project-based activities

2 August 2021

We have made updates to our registry and guides to reflect two sets of updated Victorian Energy Upgrades specifications from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning:

• Victorian Energy Upgrades specifications 2018 – version 9.0
• Measurement and verification in the Victorian Energy Upgrades – specifications – version 6.0.

Changes to electricity emissions factors: Effective 1 August

The Victorian Energy Upgrades program’s electricity emissions factor will be updated to 0.9546 from 1 August to reflect the increase of renewable energy in Victoria.

Changes apply to the calculation of certificates for:

• water heating activities (activities 1 and 3)
• space heating and cooling activities (activities 5, 7, 9, 10, 23, and 28)
• space conditioning activities (activities 13, 14 and 15)
• low-flow shower rose activities (activity 17)
• lighting activities (activities 21, 27, 34, 35)
• appliance activities (activities 22, 24, 25, 26, 30, 31, 32, 33, 36)
• project-based activities, and the measurement and verification method.

The program’s electricity emissions factors will change through gradual decreases in each year to 2025 and will be used in the greenhouse emissions reduction calculations. You can find out more about these changes at Engage Victoria.

Changes to incandescent lighting activities (activity 21): Effective 1 August

Effective from 1 August 2021, the changes to incandescent lighting activities (activity 21) in the Victorian Energy Upgrades specifications (version 9.0) are:

• a 35 per cent reduction of incentives for all activity scenarios
• the use of a consistent power factor multiplier in greenhouse gas calculations for all activity scenarios (0.80 if the power factor of the upgrade is less than 0.80, and 1.00 if the power factor of the upgrade is at least 0.80)
• the removal of lower efficacy and lifetime upgrade product categories.

The table below lists the changes applicable to each activity scenario.

Changes to the register of products and creation forms for certificates

We will update the register of products to end-date products that do not meet the updated requirements in the Victorian Energy Upgrades specifications (version 9.0).

The activity 21 certificate creation form has been updated to reflect the end dating of these products. You will need to download this form from the VEU registry to submit creations for activities undertaken after 1 August 2021.

Changes to measurement and verification documents for project-based activities

We have updated the activity guide for the measurement and verification method to include information relating to projects affected by a state of emergency or disaster (such as the coronavirus pandemic). We made this update so the guide was in line with version 6 of the measurement and verification specifications from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, and to clarify the effective range rule.

The project plan approval form for measurement and verification has also been updated to include information on whether a project has been affected by a state of emergency or disaster. This update includes how to apply the requirements in Accounting for COVID-19 under VEU (2021).

Review our updated documents

The following guides and form have been updated to reflect the changes:

• Space conditioning, shower rose and incandescent lighting activity guide
• Lighting product application guide
• Project-based activities: Measurement and verification activity guide.
• Project plan approval form – project-based activities: Measurement and verification

Where to get help

If you have any questions or feedback about this program update, please contact VEU support on (03) 9302 1310 or veu@esc.vic.gov.au.