49Financial assurances

49 Financial assurances

49 Financial assurances

(1) This clause applies if the Scheme Administrator imposes a condition on the accreditation of a person as an energy savings certificate provider requiring the person to provide a financial assurance to the Scheme Administrator to secure or guarantee the person’s compliance with any order that may be made against the person under the Act, Schedule 4A, clause 45.

(2) The amount of any financial assurance required by the Scheme Administrator is to be determined by the Scheme Administrator having regard to the following—

(a) the activities in respect of which the person is accredited or to be accredited,

(b) the number of energy savings certificates that the person has created or is likely to create,

(c) the frequency of audits conducted or to be conducted in respect of the person,

(d) any other matters the Scheme Administrator considers relevant.

(3) A financial assurance is to be in the form that the Scheme Administrator considers appropriate (such as a bank guarantee or bond).

(4) A financial assurance provided to the Scheme Administrator may be claimed or realised by the Scheme Administrator only if—

(a) an order is made against the person under the Act, Schedule 4A, clause 45, and

(b) the person who gave the financial assurance fails to comply with the order.

(5) The Scheme Administrator must give to the person who provided the financial assurance written notice of its intention to make a claim on or realise the financial assurance (or any part of it) at least 21 days before doing so.

(6) The maximum amount that the Scheme Administrator may claim or recover under the financial assurance is the compliance cost in respect of the person’s failure to comply with the order under the Act, Schedule 4A, clause 45.

(7) For the purposes of this clause, the compliance cost in respect of a person’s failure to comply with an order under the Act, Schedule 4A, clause 45 is to be determined by the Scheme Administrator by multiplying the number of certificates that the person failed to surrender in compliance with the order by the scheme penalty rate for the year in which the financial assurance is claimed on or realised.