Veritek is one of the first SANAS Measurement & Verification Inspection Bodies accredited to provide M&V services and issue certificates to claim a tax deduction for energy efficiency savings under the 12L Regulation released last year. The 12L Regulation is an energy efficiency tax incentive which was promulgated by the Department of Treasury and came into operation in November 2013. It will assist organisations, whom are tax paying entities, to receive a deduction on their taxable income due to the savings achieved through energy efficiency projects.

M&V is the vehicle that provides impartial, transparent and suitably accurate quantification of energy savings projects and their impacts. Most stakeholders in energy savings projects want to know and be certain how much energy is being saved, whether these savings are being sustained and if reported figures can be trusted.

By using an accredited M&V Inspection Body assurance is paramount as SANAS accreditation is subject to meeting strict guidelines with regular review:

• A requirement of impartiality, M&V teams must remain separate from the implementation team
• Delivering services in accordance with SANS 50010:2011
• Compliance with SANS/ISO/IEC 17020:2012
• Additional Compliance with ISO 9001 Quality Management System standard is most beneficial

Typical M&V services delivered by M&V specialists include the measurement of project parameters, developing baselines and calculating the savings in accordance with SANS 50 010:2011 that was derived from the Efficiency Valuation Organisation’s IPMVP protocol, which is international best-practice. A key responsibility of M&V services is to facilitate agreement between the stakeholders on the M&V evaluation outcomes through accurate reporting of results. 

The nature of Veritek’s experience ranges from Demand Side Management projects of which over 400 have been completed successfully, 12i tax incentive projects, 12L tax incentive projects and numerous client-funded Energy Efficiency Demand Side Management projects. M&V experience by Veritek personnel has been gained in various industries for hot water load control, space heater load control, lighting retrofits, mine pumping systems, thermal ice storage systems, irrigation pumping systems, furnace energy efficiency upgrades, solar water heating, compressed air systems, gas compressors, diesel usage, HVAC systems, fuel source changes, milling systems, PV system, building optimisation, to name but a few.

The first step for an organisation wishing to pursue the 12L energy efficiency tax incentive is the appointment of an M&V entity accredited by SANAS, such as Veritek. Staff members are on hand to give guidance to whether projects will qualify for the incentive, and are familiar with the registration process and requirements for you to benefit from the 12L incentive.