By 2030, your commercial portfolio must show a 40% cut in final energy on OPERAT, the French reporting platform of the Décret tertiaire (France's tertiary decree on energy savings in commercial buildings)[1][1]RegulationLégifrance, “Decree No. 2019-771 of 23 July 2019 on obligations to reduce final energy consumption in commercial buildings” (Décret tertiaire)See in sources ↓. Renovation works are often signed with an energy performance guarantee in an appendix. Yet the building owner rarely asks the decisive question: who will be able to prove the gap with actual consumption? Here is what the obligation really covers, what it leaves out and how to check it before signing.
Definition, origin and difference between GPE, GPEI, GRE and EPC
An obligation of result written into the contract
A GPE (garantie de performance énergétique, the French energy performance guarantee) is the energy obligation of result that an operator takes on towards the building owner: hold to a defined volume of kWh, over a defined period, or compensate the gap.
Its most readable form remains the consumption guarantee. The promised saving is then judged on metered kWh of energy, not on a calculation note.
The notion took shape with the Grenelle 1 law (France's 2009 environmental planning law)[2][2]RegulationLégifrance, “Law No. 2009-967 of 3 August 2009 on the programming of the implementation of the Grenelle Environment Forum” (Grenelle 1 law), article 5See in sources ↓. Today it forms the central contractual commitment of the energy performance contract (EPC, called CPE in France), whoever leads the operation, in the sense that EU law gives to this contract[4][4]RegulationEUR-Lex, “Directive (EU) 2023/1791 of 13 September 2023 on energy efficiency (recast)”, article 2, definition of the energy performance contract; it repeals Directive 2012/27/EU with effect from 12 October 2025See in sources ↓.
Renovation, construction or operation: which buildings does it apply to?
The scheme covers the commercial building stock in three situations. In new construction, the obligation covers the design and the delivered works. On a refurbishment project, it compares before and after. Finally, a public buyer can require it from the tender stage. Housing falls under other regimes, outside the scope of this article.
The GRE: kWh read at the meter, in real conditions
The garantie de résultat énergétique (GRE, guaranteed energy result) covers actual consumption, read at the meter under operating conditions defined at the outset: hours, occupancy rate, setpoints. Some providers call it GPE-R.
The usage risk is shared. The operator answers for the kWh as long as occupancy stays within the agreed framework. If the occupied floor areas or the hours change, the baseline is adjusted. The gap can then no longer be attributed to the operator.
The GPEI: a conventional calculation, excluding occupancy
The garantie de performance énergétique intrinsèque (GPEI, intrinsic energy performance guarantee) targets new builds and major restructurings. It covers a conventional calculation of end uses: heating, cooling, domestic hot water, ventilation and lighting, with the thermal insulation and the equipment as delivered. Actual occupancy stays out of scope. The contractor answers for what the building can do, never for what the occupants will do with it.
Did you know? As early as April 2012, an interim report submitted to the Plan Bâtiment Grenelle (the French government's building sector task force) already distinguished two levels of promise[3][3]Studies and reportsPlan Bâtiment Grenelle, “La garantie de performance énergétique” (The energy performance guarantee), interim report of the working group co-chaired by Caroline Costa and Michel Jouvent, section 5.2 “The two proposed energy performance guarantees”See in sources ↓: one intrinsic, calculated on the delivered building, the other covering the actual result in operation.
EPC, public buyer, insurer: five instruments filed under the same acronym
All five schemes present themselves as a performance promise. Yet they do not protect the same thing. The table compares them on what matters at signing: who carries the usage risk and what happens after handover.
| Scheme | What is promised | Basis of verification | Who carries the usage risk | Trigger for the penalty | After handover |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPEI | A conventional kWh level per end use | Regulatory calculation on the delivered building | Out of scope, stays with the owner | Gap between calculation and intrinsic performance | Not covered |
| GRE | Metered kWh over a given period | Meter readings, adjusted baseline | Shared according to the agreed usage framework | Gap between metered kWh and adjusted target | At the heart of the promise |
| Result clause of an EPC | A kWh improvement against a baseline | Meter readings and verification plan | Defined case by case | Gap to the set target | Included if the contractor provides the service |
| Global performance contract (marché global de performance) | Quantified performance levels[6][6]RegulationLégifrance, “Code de la commande publique” (French Public Procurement Code), article L. 2171-3, global performance contractSee in sources ↓ | Indicators set at the tender stage | According to the specifications | Failure to reach the set levels | May include maintenance |
| Builders' ten-year liability insurance (décennale) | Soundness and usability of the building | Defect found after handover | Out of scope | Unfitness for purpose | Ten-year cover |
Read the usage risk column before any other. Only the GRE and the result clause of an EPC are judged on kWh metered in real use: the GPEI compares a calculation with a calculation, and the décennale does not cover mere overconsumption. French practice also distinguishes three families of arrangements: supplies and services, works and services, and global. When a contractor asks you to sign, first ask which one it falls into.
Kilowatt-hours, euros, comfort: what exactly the obligation covers
A consumption, a saving or an amount in euros?
Three units are found in these arrangements. Absolute kWh, easy to read but sensitive to occupancy. A saving relative to a baseline, fairer as long as that baseline holds. Euros, which speak to the financier.
Check what the contract provides: does the main clause leave the unit price of energy out of scope? If so, a tariff increase triggers no compensation. Your return on investment is then recalculated with no recourse.
Baseline, target, works, verification, gap: the five steps up to the penalty
Step 1: establish the baseline over a full cycle
Everything is decided here. The baseline sets the level against which every kWh saved will be counted throughout the period. It is built after an audit, over at least one year, to cover a heating season and a cooling season. The scope names each end use: heating, domestic hot water, HVAC. It must also take actual occupancy into account, floor by floor. A baseline built on meters that drop out becomes the basis of every future dispute.
Step 2: quantify the target and write the measurement plan
The target is expressed in absolute kWh or as a percentage reduction from the baseline. For an asset subject to the Décret tertiaire, this baseline must match the one declared on OPERAT[7][7]RegulationADEME, “OPERAT”, reporting platform for Décret tertiaire consumption dataSee in sources ↓. Otherwise, you are steering two trajectories that never meet. The verification method is part of the contractual commitment. How it is set up is decided at signing, before each party knows where its interest lies.
Step 3: carry out the works or actions, then hand over
The contractor undertakes renovation works (thermal insulation, for example) or actions without works on the controls. Implementation ends with a handover tested point by point, which is what handover and warranty year of a new BMS covers. Handover and commissioning are not the same thing. The first records delivery. Commissioning checks over several seasons that the promised efficiency improvement shows up in the meter readings. On the BMS side, existing installations of 70 to 290 kW fall under the BACS decree (French decree 2020-887 on building automation and control systems) from 1 January 2030[5][5]RegulationLégifrance, “Decree No. 2025-1343 of 26 December 2025”, postponement of the BACS deadline for buildings of 70 to 290 kW to 1 January 2030See in sources ↓.
Step 4: measure, then adjust according to IPMVP
Verification compares metered consumption with the baseline, once the baseline has been adjusted. The IPMVP protocol provides four verification options, from A to D[8][8]Studies and reportsEVO, “IPMVP Core Concepts”, verification options A, B, C and DSee in sources ↓, depending on whether you isolate one piece of equipment or reason on the whole asset. The IPMVP measurement plan sets the complete chain, from baseline to gap. The diagram below walks through its five links, then shows on an annual curve the two places where the proof breaks silently.
Five links between the promise and the penalty
Hover over or tap a link: its role appears below the chain.- kWh read at the meter
- HDD-adjusted baseline
- Data anomaly
- 1Data gap. April and May are missing. Without an interpolation rule written at the outset, the gap for these two months cannot be held against anyone.
- 2Drifting meter. From September, the readings rise above the adjusted baseline. A real increase in kWh or an offset sensor? Without a cross-check, there is no way to tell.
Routine adjustments account for the weather (heating degree days, HDD, called DJU in France) as well as changes in occupancy. Non-routine adjustments deal with an extension or the arrival of a new tenant. The curve's two annotations point to the weakest link, the fourth: a data gap or a drifting meter skews the gap without anyone noticing. Monitoring BMS points therefore matters as much as the formula.
Step 5: calculate the gap and trigger the penalty or the bonus
At the close of each year, the gap between the target and the adjusted result is converted into financial compensation, proportional to the missing kWh. A bonus-malus can also share the surplus when the target is exceeded. The most sensitive point is rarely settled: who certifies the calculation? An independent third party? Or the contractor who must answer for the gap itself? The amount and cap of penalties are read clause by clause. Before it comes to that, it is better to know what the asset can really deliver.
It remains to be seen who carries each share of this risk: the contractor, the insurer or the owner.
Operator, insurer, building owner: who carries the commitment and what it never covers
The operator is liable for the result
The signatory is an energy service company (ESCO) or a works contractor. It answers for the gap through the financial compensation agreed at signing. One clause should be read before all others: any cap on this compensation. A commitment capped at a token amount transfers almost no risk. Check the cap before checking the target.
The insurer and the décennale: what is really covered
Insurance cover has nothing to do with the operator's commitment. It falls under the builder's ten-year liability (responsabilité décennale), which the legislator deliberately narrowed.
Since the law of 17 August 2015, mere overconsumption is no longer enough to establish unfitness for purpose[9][9]RegulationLégifrance, “Law No. 2015-992 of 17 August 2015 on the energy transition for green growth”, article 31, former article L. 111-13-1 of the Code de la construction et de l'habitation (French Construction and Housing Code), carried over unchanged to article L. 123-2 since 1 July 2021 (Ordinance No. 2020-71 of 29 January 2020)See in sources ↓. There must be a design, product or installation defect that makes the building usable only at an exorbitant cost[9][9]RegulationLégifrance, “Law No. 2015-992 of 17 August 2015 on the energy transition for green growth”, article 31, former article L. 111-13-1 of the Code de la construction et de l'habitation (French Construction and Housing Code), carried over unchanged to article L. 123-2 since 1 July 2021 (Ordinance No. 2020-71 of 29 January 2020)See in sources ↓. For a construction insurer, a few points of gap on the kWh remain out of scope.
The questions to ask before signing
Five questions to have settled in writing
These drifts are negotiated before signing, never after. Five questions are enough to know whether the clause will hold once the technical teams are left to their own devices. Tick the ones your counterpart has already answered in writing.
A vague answer to any of them deserves a dedicated clause, set up in the same negotiation as the target. A guarantee that stops at handover guarantees the calculation, not the building.
What Foobot does so that performance can be verified on the building
Make meters and historical data reliable before signing
An enforceable baseline starts with reliable meters. That is the purpose of meter reliability work, one of the deliverables of our BMS advisory: spotting disconnections, flagging data gaps, removing duplicates, uncovering invisible drifts. Putting this foundation in place comes before any negotiation. Historical data management then stops being an archive nobody opens. It becomes a tool of proof.
Before signing, demand the proof as much as the promise
Before any signature, read the unit committed to: kWh, relative saving or euros. Ask whether it is a GRE judged on actual readings or a GPEI calculated excluding occupancy. Insist on knowing who verifies the gap and with what data. Keep in mind that what happens after the covered period remains outside the scope of the contract. A promise signed on doubtful meters protects no one. The 2030 deadline[1][1]RegulationLégifrance, “Decree No. 2019-771 of 23 July 2019 on obligations to reduce final energy consumption in commercial buildings” (Décret tertiaire)See in sources ↓ will leave no time to rebuild a lost baseline. Start by making your meters enforceable.
make your guarantee verifiable
FAQ - energy performance guarantee
What is an energy performance guarantee?
It is an obligation of result. An operator commits to the owner on a level of kWh or savings, then compensates the gap if it falls short. The notion took structure after the Grenelle 1 law, with the 2012 report[3][3]Studies and reportsPlan Bâtiment Grenelle, “La garantie de performance énergétique” (The energy performance guarantee), interim report of the working group co-chaired by Caroline Costa and Michel Jouvent, section 5.2 “The two proposed energy performance guarantees”See in sources ↓.
How does an energy performance contract work?
The EPC transfers the performance risk to the contractor. A baseline is set, then a quantified target. The readings are then compared each year against a verification plan. The gap triggers a financial penalty or a bonus.
What are the benefits of an energy performance guarantee?
The building owner takes the performance risk off its balance sheet and secures its regulatory trajectory. The limit is well known: the usage risk stays with the owner. A change in occupancy or an extension shifts the baseline.
What types of energy performance contracts exist?
There are three. Supplies and services: the operator supplies equipment (boiler, heat pump, controls) and operates it. Works and services: investments are added. Global: design, construction and maintenance fall to a single contractor. Every EPC is judged on the same chain of proof.
How can a building's energy performance be guaranteed?
On an existing asset, start by making the meters reliable and filling in the historical data. Then demand a handover tested point by point. Finally, log every manual override. Without this discipline, no commitment holds for long across a real estate portfolio.
What are the objectives of an energy performance guarantee?
To set a quantified target in kWh or as a percentage, then make it enforceable. For a commercial asset, it aligns with the Décret tertiaire trajectory: -40% in 2030[1][1]RegulationLégifrance, “Decree No. 2019-771 of 23 July 2019 on obligations to reduce final energy consumption in commercial buildings” (Décret tertiaire)See in sources ↓. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions follows.
What are the steps of an energy performance contract?
Five steps follow one another: establish the baseline, quantify the target, carry out the works or actions, verify the results, then calculate the gap that triggers a penalty or a bonus. The first conditions all the others: a shaky baseline contaminates everything.
How do you assess a project's energy performance?
At the project stage, the audit establishes the baseline and quantifies the expected effect of each action, thermal insulation included. The IPMVP verification plan[8][8]Studies and reportsEVO, “IPMVP Core Concepts”, verification options A, B, C and DSee in sources ↓ is written before the works. Otherwise, no one will be able to separate real savings from the weather effect.
Sources and references
9 sources.- [1]Légifrance, “Decree No. 2019-771 of 23 July 2019 on obligations to reduce final energy consumption in commercial buildings” (Décret tertiaire)23/07/2019↑ 1 2 3
- [2]Légifrance, “Law No. 2009-967 of 3 August 2009 on the programming of the implementation of the Grenelle Environment Forum” (Grenelle 1 law), article 503/08/2009↑
- [4]EUR-Lex, “Directive (EU) 2023/1791 of 13 September 2023 on energy efficiency (recast)”, article 2, definition of the energy performance contract; it repeals Directive 2012/27/EU with effect from 12 October 202513/09/2023↑
- [5]Légifrance, “Decree No. 2025-1343 of 26 December 2025”, postponement of the BACS deadline for buildings of 70 to 290 kW to 1 January 203026/12/2025↑
Show the other 3: [6] to [9]
- [6]Légifrance, “Code de la commande publique” (French Public Procurement Code), article L. 2171-3, global performance contract↑
- [7]ADEME, “OPERAT”, reporting platform for Décret tertiaire consumption data↑
- [9]Légifrance, “Law No. 2015-992 of 17 August 2015 on the energy transition for green growth”, article 31, former article L. 111-13-1 of the Code de la construction et de l'habitation (French Construction and Housing Code), carried over unchanged to article L. 123-2 since 1 July 2021 (Ordinance No. 2020-71 of 29 January 2020)17/08/2015↑ 1 2
- [3]Plan Bâtiment Grenelle, “La garantie de performance énergétique” (The energy performance guarantee), interim report of the working group co-chaired by Caroline Costa and Michel Jouvent, section 5.2 “The two proposed energy performance guarantees”05/04/2012↑ 1 2
- [8]EVO, “IPMVP Core Concepts”, verification options A, B, C and D↑ 1 2