Raffles Consulting Services
Build an EEG project payback model using energy savings, grant timing, tax, maintenance, downtime and utilisation.
An EEG project payback model should test the investment without assuming the maximum grant or perfect savings. The current EEG Base tier supports approved equipment, while Advanced tier support depends on expected lifetime energy savings. Hardware support does not remove maintenance, downtime, financing or operating uncertainty.
Build the baseline from measured use
Record the current equipment, operating hours, load, energy consumption, tariff, maintenance and output. Use a representative period and explain seasonal or production changes. State whether the replacement is required anyway, because avoided replacement cost can distort the claimed payback.
The Energy Efficiency Grant page sets the current tiers, caps, rates and eligibility. The EEG FAQ explains supported hardware, excluded maintenance and GST, holding periods and the application sequence.
Model cash flows by scenario
Include purchase, installation if unsupported, disruption, maintenance, financing, residual value, tax and working capital. Model the grant only after confirming the exact tier, model and company eligibility. Place reimbursement at a realistic date rather than subtracting it from day-one cash outflow.
Calculate simple payback and a discounted measure under base, downside and upside cases. Vary utilisation, tariff, savings degradation and equipment life. Show the result before and after support so management can judge whether the equipment remains sensible if the application fails.
Tie the model to post-installation evidence
Define meter, bill or operating data that will test actual savings after installation. Assign an owner to compare forecast and actual use at regular intervals. Separate lower consumption caused by reduced business activity from efficiency created by the equipment.
Update the model for the approved grant, actual invoice, payment and commissioning date. Keep the original investment case. Record corrective action if utilisation or savings are lower than expected, and preserve the equipment during the required holding period.
Separate management value from grant support
Present the investment committee with the gross project case, the expected supported case and a no-grant case. State which assumptions management can control and which depend on tariffs, utilisation or approval. Record the minimum saving needed for acceptance. This prevents a funding headline from replacing the operating decision the equipment must justify.
Turn the decision into a controlled file
Use a dated decision record that identifies the applicant, business need, current official source, chosen route, responsible owner, costs, milestones and evidence. Separate facts already verified from forecasts and assumptions. A catalogue listing, supplier statement, consultant recommendation or portal acknowledgement does not establish approval. The company remains responsible for its declarations and commercial decision.
Give each quotation, contract, invoice, payment and deliverable a stable reference. Preserve earlier versions and explain material changes instead of silently replacing them. Where the authority, tax adviser, auditor or another professional must decide a point, record the open question and obtain the required view. Do not convert uncertainty into a confident eligibility statement.
Review before commitment and again before closeout
Run four reviews: suitability, authority, implementation and closeout. At suitability, test the entity, activity and business outcome. Before commitment, freeze the proposed scope, vendor and financial assumptions. During implementation, compare actual work with approved terms. At closeout, reconcile deliverables, accepted results, invoices, full payment, operating evidence and obligations that continue.
Name the person who may approve each stage and the records that person must see. Procurement should not treat a draft application as permission to contract. A project team should not treat supplier completion as company acceptance. Finance should not treat a submitted claim as cash received. Clear status words prevent accidental commitments and weak reporting.
Handle exceptions without rewriting history
Maintain an exception log for changed facts, delayed milestones, supplier variations, cost movements, missing records and failed tests. State the effect on scope, eligibility, timing and expected value. If an authority decision or formal variation is required, use the published route before relying on the change. Silence and helpdesk receipt are not approval.
If a material defect appears, pause the affected acceptance, filing or claim item. Keep original evidence, assign corrective action and set a review date. Do not backdate records, move costs between categories or adjust a baseline after seeing the result. A candid exception with an owned resolution is more credible than a clean-looking file that cannot explain what happened.
Plan handovers before the original project team disperses. The handover should identify the current version, source locations, system access owner, next review date, open exceptions and any condition that continues after payment or filing. Restrict personal, financial and commercially sensitive records to authorised users, while giving each responsible owner enough information to perform the assigned control. Record the external event that should trigger an earlier review, such as a changed programme page, revised authority letter, supplier failure or material business change.
Verify the final outcome independently
Ask someone who did not prepare the final pack to compare the decision, current official source, approved terms, deliverables, payments and operating evidence. Recalculate totals and sample source records. The reviewer should be able to reproduce the conclusion without relying on the preparer’s memory. Record unresolved points with named owners and dates.
Use the REG(E) and EEG route comparison for the wider decision and keep this article as the narrower operating guide. After submission, preserve the receipt and reconcile questions, adjustments and the final registered or paid outcome. Continue any reporting, retention, asset-use or other condition that survives closeout.
Practical review checklist
- Energy baseline measured
- All cash costs included
- Grant timing modelled
- Downside case approved
- Post-installation review assigned
The investment is ready for approval when management can reproduce the baseline, fund the reimbursement gap and accept the project under a reasonable downside case without relying on an unapproved grant.