Does the energy audit obligation apply to your company?

Thresholds and deadlines

• Under 2,700 MWh per year: no statutory energy audit or energy management system obligation arises.
• 2,700–23,600 MWh per year: an energy audit of the company at least every four years. The audit obligation became mandatory for newly covered companies for the first time on 11 October 2026, and a company already covered must complete its next audit within four years of the date of the previous audit report.
• Over 23,600 MWh per year: a certified energy management system by 11 October 2027 – the requirement is met at least by a certified ISO 50001 and a certified ETJ+. The system also meets the energy audit obligation.

How consumption is calculated

• Three-year average. Final energy consumption over the three previous calendar years; missing years count as zero.
• All energy types. Electricity, heat and fuels, including those of vehicles and machinery; own renewable energy and energy from side streams.
• Excluded are international shipping fuels, ambient energy, deliveries to the transformation and energy sectors, and transmission, distribution and plant losses; of a heat pump only the electricity.
• Energy sold on is not own consumption. A producing plant counts only its own use; a network company's transmitted energy and losses are excluded.
• Leased premises. A tenant counts only the energy it pays for on a metered basis; a tenant's unmetered consumption is counted for the property owner.
• One company at a time. Ownership is not taken into account; a company's sites are added together. At group level all group companies are included.
• Only energy used in Finland. Sites abroad are not audited; their obligations follow the law of the country where they are located.

Estimate factors

The estimate converts money and litres to megawatt-hours with the following average prices and calorific values:

If you only just exceed the threshold

Near the threshold even a small difference in the method of calculation decides the outcome. It is worth making sure that all three years have been calculated the same way as final energy consumption, that ambient energy and energy sold on have been excluded, and that exceptional years – production stoppages, or an operating history of less than three years – are reflected correctly in the average. Exceeding a consumption threshold must also be notified to the Energy Authority: the notification obligation arises when consumption exceeds 2,700 MWh or 23,600 MWh in a calendar year. We go through the calculation and the borderline interpretation in a free initial consultation.