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1. Member States shall promote the energy services market and access to it for SMEs by disseminating clear and easily accessible information on:

(a) available energy service contracts and clauses that should be included in such contracts to guarantee energy savings and final customers’ rights;

(b) financial instruments, incentives, grants, revolving funds, guarantees, insurance schemes, and loans to support energy efficiency service projects;

(c) available energy services providers, such as ESCOs, that are qualified or certified and their qualifications or certifications in accordance with Article 28;

(d) available monitoring and verification methodologies and quality control schemes.

2. Member States shall encourage the development of quality labels, inter alia, by trade associations, based on European or international standards where relevant.

3. Member States shall make publicly available and regularly update a list of available energy service providers that are qualified or certified and their qualifications or certifications in accordance with Article 28, or provide an interface where energy service providers can provide that information.

4. Member States shall promote and ensure, where technically and economically feasible, the use of energy performance contracting for renovations of large buildings that are owned by public bodies. For renovations of large non-residential buildings with a total useful floor area above 750 m2, Member States shall ensure that public bodies assess the feasibility of using energy performance contracting and other performance-based energy services. Member States may encourage public bodies to combine energy performance contracting with expanded energy services, including demand response and storage, in order to ensure energy savings and maintain the results obtained over time through continuous monitoring, effective operation and maintenance.

5. Member States shall support the public sector in taking up energy service offers, in particular for building refurbishment, by:

(a) providing model contracts for energy performance contracting which include at least the items listed in Annex XV and take into account the existing European or international standards, available tendering guidelines and the Eurostat guide to the statistical treatment of energy performance contracts in government accounts;

(b) providing information on best practices for energy performance contracting, including, if available, a cost-benefit analysis using a life-cycle approach;

(c) promoting and making publicly available a database of implemented and ongoing energy performance contracting projects that includes the projected and achieved energy savings.

6. Member States shall support the proper functioning of the energy services market, by taking the following measures:

(a) identifying and publicising one or more points of contact where final customers can obtain the information referred to in paragraph 1;

(b) removing the regulatory and non-regulatory barriers that impede the uptake of energy performance contracting and other energy efficiency service models for the identification or implementation of energy saving measures, or both;

(c) setting up and promoting the role of advisory bodies and independent market intermediaries including one-stop shops or similar support mechanisms to stimulate market development on the demand and supply sides, and making information about those support mechanisms publicly available and accessible to market actors.

7. For the purpose of supporting the proper functioning of the energy services market, Member States may establish an individual mechanism or designate an ombudsperson to ensure the efficient handling of complaints and out-of-court settlement of disputes arising from energy service and energy performance contracts.

8. Member States shall ensure that energy distributors, distribution system operators and retail energy sales companies refrain from any activities that may impede the demand for and delivery of energy services or energy efficiency improvement measures, or hinder the development of markets for such services or measures, including foreclosing the market for competitors or abusing dominant positions.