21 July 2026
For NHS trusts and private healthcare groups, working through ESOS Phase 3, the UK's mandatory energy auditing scheme for large organisations, means months of work: pulling consumption data from across the estate, auditing sites and getting an action plan signed off at board level.
Once the ESOS deadline passes, most of that data gets filed and rarely looked at again. Here we look at how the information your trust or group already holds can strengthen governance, support funding applications and give leadership teams a clearer picture of one of their biggest costs.
A completed ESOS audit covers at least 95% of an organisation's total energy consumption across buildings, industrial processes and transport.
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) adds to this, requiring large organisations to disclose energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and efficiency actions annually as part of their financial report.
Between the two, most large healthcare organisations will already have access to detailed energy figures across their estate. The question is whether that information is being used beyond the compliance process itself. For many organisations, the answer is only partially, which becomes most visible when looking at energy spend at board level.
NHS energy spending remains above £1 billion a year, with the latest available ERIC 2023/24 data confirming continued pressure across the estate. Some trusts have also reported increases of more than 50% following the end of fixed-price contracts. At that scale, energy is a significant line on the balance sheet and boards are right to ask hard questions about how it is managed.
Reliable, site-level consumption figures give leadership teams a clearer view of where costs are rising, which sites are using more energy and where attention may be needed. That visibility also supports earlier decision-making. Issues that show up in the data can be investigated and addressed before they become larger financial problems, rather than surfacing as surprises at budget review.
Trend data across multiple periods supports more accurate budget forecasting and helps teams spot unusual changes before costs escalate further. At year end, a clear and traceable record reduces pressure on finance directors and gives auditors what they need without rebuilding figures from scratch, which becomes important during audits and reporting reviews.
For private healthcare groups, the same applies. Where energy performance feeds into ESG reporting or investor disclosure, the quality of the underlying consumption data determines the credibility of what is reported.
The same information also affects how easily organisations can move forward with capital projects. A 2024 survey by NHS Property Services found that 84% of estates leaders cited difficulties navigating the capital funding process. Access to funding and demonstrating return on investment the most frequently cited barriers to progressing energy and net zero projects.
Salix Finance, which administers interest-free and low-interest loans for public sector energy efficiency and decarbonisation projects, requires applicants to demonstrate baseline consumption, projected savings and the methodology behind those projections. The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme works in a similar way. In both cases, a clear and verifiable picture of current consumption helps make the application credible.
Well-maintained consumption figures make funding applications easier to support. Organisations that have them in good order are in a stronger position when funding windows open. Those without are rebuilding the evidence base from scratch under time pressure, which is rarely the best starting point for making a compelling case to decision-makers.
Maintaining accurate, usable energy information often depends on how it is captured and reported day to day. Clear billing, consistent reporting and metering visibility all reduce the burden of pulling together ESOS and SECR submissions. They also mean the figures used internally are consistent with those used across compliance and internal reporting, reducing the risk of discrepancies when questions are asked.
For most trusts, that means starting with what is already in place: reviewing whether current billing is split clearly by site, if metering covers the buildings that drive the most cost, and whether the figures coming in from suppliers match what internal systems are recording. Those are not large projects. But they are the foundations that make everything else, board reporting, funding bids, compliance submissions, easier and more defensible.
SEFE Energy works with NHS trusts and private healthcare organisations across the UK, supporting complex estates with energy supply, consumption reporting and account management that helps organisations manage compliance and maintain clearer visibility across multiple sites. To find out more, visit our healthcare sector page.