The European Commission has decided on Thursday 7 March to refer Spain to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to ensure compliance with certain energy efficiency requirements (Directive 2012/27/EU).
The reason for this is the failure to comply with certain provisions on individual metering in buildings with several apartments and mixed buildings.
The Directive requires the installation of individual meters for heating, cooling and domestic hot water for all buildings with several apartments and mixed buildings whose occupants benefit from these services from a collective installation (such as a common boiler). This requirement applies – where technically possible and cost-effective – to all existing buildings. However, the Spanish national transposition measures only impose this requirement for new buildings (built after 2007).
In buildings where heat meters are not a technically feasible or cost-effective solution for space heating, it is more appropriate to use heating cost distributors mounted on each radiator. Nor has this requirement been correctly transposed by Spain. EU rules in this area were to be transposed into national law by 5 June 2014 at the latest. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)