New White Certificates Decree: What Changes

White Certificates, or Energy Efficiency Certificates (EECs), are an incentive mechanism that rewards energy savings achieved through efficiency interventions. Each EEC is equivalent to the saving of one tonne of oil equivalent (1 TOE).

Managed by the GSE, the system obliges energy distributors to achieve annual energy savings targets by purchasing or generating EECs through approved projects. Companies, ESCo, and public or private entities can participate if their interventions comply with the technical sheets and criteria of the DM MASE 21 July 2025.

The new decree introduces significant updates compared to the previous regulation (2021–2024), simplifying procedures, expanding eligible interventions, and strengthening GSE’s role in project management.

A Clearer and More Stable Framework

The decree defines planning for EECs up to 2030, overcoming short-term renewals. Energy saving obligations for electricity and gas distributors are updated progressively, giving companies more predictability when investing in efficiency measures.
The GSE takes full responsibility for project assessment, verification, and management, in collaboration with ENEA for technical aspects.

Main Differences Compared to the Previous Decree

Compared to 2021–2024, the new decree introduces several substantial changes:

1. Extended Time Horizon

The plan now extends to 2030, with more ambitious objectives and flexible mechanisms for EEC recognition, allowing companies to plan long-term structural interventions

2. New Eligible Interventions

Table 1 of the decree lists new categories, including:

• Intelligent automation and control systems;
• Digitalization of production processes;
• ORC plants for energy recovery;
• Deep retrofit of industrial buildings;
• LED lighting systems with automated management;
• Heat recovery from industrial processes and LNG regasification.

Interventions combining energy efficiency, digitalization, and monitoring are particularly encouraged.

3. Aggregated Projects Across Multiple Parties

The decree allows interventions by different entities to be aggregated into a single project if they belong to the same category and total annual savings do not exceed 50 TOE.
All owners sign a standard contract, recognizing EECs directly for the proposing entity. Temporary joint ventures or associated forms of private entities can act as the project owner if each participant contributes to the investment, with a collective special mandate granted to one entity to act on behalf of all.

4. Simplified Procedures
Standardized interventions (lighting, electric motors, compressed air) follow a faster approval process, while complex interventions maintain the consuntive procedure with clearer calculation rules and transparent baseline determination.

5. New Baseline Measurement Rules
To determine the baseline, the proposer must consider consumption and operational variable measurements for at least 12 months prior to the project, with daily sampling. Post-implementation data can also be used if representative of pre-intervention conditions. The proposer must identify key variables affecting energy use and measure them correctly.

6. Cumulability and Incentives
The decree clarifies when EECs can be combined with other incentives (tax credits, regional contributions), always not exceeding 100% of the investment cost.

7. Lifetime Extension
For some industrial interventions, the recognized lifetime for savings calculation increases from 5 to 7 years, supporting medium- to long-term structural projects.

A Real Opportunity for Companies

The decree reinvigorates White Certificates as a concrete tool to finance energy efficiency in industrial, civil, and tertiary sectors. Applications for EEC recognition can be submitted to GSE via the TEE 2.0 portal from September 2025.

In summary, the DM 21 July 2025 is a structural revision of the White Certificates system: clearer rules, more eligible interventions, greater stability. For companies and ESCo, efficiency is no longer just an environmental goal but a tangible and sustainable investment.