Scottish firms face £100k fines for F-gas violations

UK: The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) warns Scottish companies that it will be monitoring compliance with the latest F-gas regulations and threatening fines of up to £100,000 for violations.

Under the latest European F-gas phase down restrictions introduced on January 1, virgin HFC refrigerant with a GWP greater than 2500 is banned from use to service or refill refrigeration or freezer systems, with a refrigerant charge size of 40 tonnes of CO2e or more. 

SEPA says it will be working with Scottish local authorities and Scottish suppliers of F-gases and equipment, as well as the companies who maintain the systems, to monitor compliance.   

The authorities point out that enforcement notices and significant fines up to £100,000 can be applied from 1 January 2020 for non-compliance.

It recommends visiting its NetRegs website which provides further information and a self-assessment tool to enable companies to check if they are affected by the ban.

Companies in Scotland switching to more energy efficient refrigeration alternatives may qualify for a loan under the Scottish government’s SME Loan Scheme. 

More information on the Resource Efficient Scotland website.