Section 12L Energy Performance M&V. Turn your verified savings into a tax deduction.
Independent measurement and verification of your energy savings, prepared to the standard SARS accepts, so the deduction you claim is backed by evidence, not an estimate.
Book a ConsultationWhat is Section 12L?
Section 12L is a South African tax allowance that rewards verified energy efficiency savings with a deduction from taxable income. To claim it, you measure your energy savings against an agreed baseline, have them independently verified through measurement and verification (M&V), and submit the supporting evidence via SANEDI. The deduction is based on the energy you saved.
The allowance exists because verified efficiency is worth encouraging. The catch is the word verified: an estimate does not qualify, only measured and independently confirmed savings do.
How measurement and verification works
Measurement and verification is the process of proving an energy saving against what would have happened without the intervention. It runs in three parts.
Set the baseline. How much energy the site or system used before the efficiency work, adjusted for factors like production volume and weather.
Measure actual consumption after the intervention.
Verify the saving. The gap between the two, confirmed to a recognised M&V standard so it holds up to scrutiny.
That verified figure is what SANEDI, SARS and any funder will accept, because it has been measured rather than asserted.
The tax incentives we support
Section 12L is the main energy efficiency allowance, and it rarely stands alone. We also support 12i where it applies to qualifying industrial projects, and we work alongside the carbon tax offset levers, since verified efficiency reduces the taxable emissions base and carbon offsets reduce what remains.
Read together, these incentives mean a single efficiency project can lower your electricity account, cut your carbon tax and generate a deduction, provided the savings behind each claim are properly verified. Getting the measurement right once serves all three.
How this gets handled for you
M&V is a credentialed discipline, not a spreadsheet exercise. Delta Carbon is SANAS-accredited for Section 12L M&V and works to recognised standards, so the evidence we produce is defensible to SARS and to your auditors.
Because we also deliver the efficiency retrofits and the solar systems that generate the savings in the first place, we can design a project from the start to be measurable, rather than trying to reconstruct a baseline after the fact. If you are also weighing your carbon tax exposure, that connects directly to our carbon tax work.
Book a Consultation
You will leave with a view of whether your savings qualify, what the claim could be worth, and what evidence SARS will expect.