ESC (Energy Savings Certificate)

Written and checked by the Energy Merchants desk · Reviewed 2 October 2026

An Energy Savings Certificate (ESC) is a unit of electricity savings under the NSW Energy Savings Scheme (ESS). One ESC equals one tonne of CO2-e. The scheme is administered by the NSW scheme administrator, and obligated parties, mainly electricity retailers, must acquire ESCs to meet an annual target.

How ESCs are created

An accredited certificate provider carries out or arranges an eligible activity, such as an efficient upgrade to a commercial lighting system or a hot water system. The activity has a calculation method that estimates the savings and converts them into certificates. The provider registers them and may then sell them on.

In practice

For most installers, ESCs arrive as a service question rather than a daily task. A customer asks whether the project can be discounted. A commercial client wants the upgrade partly funded. An installer works under an accredited provider who holds the certificates. The paperwork resembles other certificate work: evidence of the installation, product details, and customer consent.

If you work in both NSW and Victoria, the closest comparison is the VEEC. See VEEC definition. Both are measured in tonnes of CO2-e and both are state schemes, but the registries, activities and rules differ. Neither is interchangeable with an STC.

Common confusion

“ESC” is a clash of abbreviations. In NSW it means Energy Savings Certificate. In Victoria it is the Essential Services Commission, the regulator behind Victorian Energy Upgrades. The certificate in Victoria is the VEEC, not an ESC.

The ESS and PDRS are also easy to merge. The ESS creates ESCs for saving energy overall. The PDRS creates PRCs for cutting demand at peak times. See ESS definition.

Related terms are in the certificate trading glossary. For the federal side of an installer’s week, see STC trading and pricing.