The Environment Agency has now issued its first round of subsistence fee invoices under the Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD), covering the period from 1 July 2025 to 31 March 2026. This is following a public consultation period (11 November 2024 to 10 January 2025), after which the Environment Agency informed MCPD permit holders of the move to annual charges in April 2025. A follow up email was sent via the MCP-SG Updates mailing list in July 2025, and then again in March this year to confirm when charges would start.
These invoices mark the start of an ongoing annual charging cycle, with fees expected to be issued each year going forward.
What you need to know
- The invoices relate to permitted standalone MCPD installations.
- They cover subsistence charges for the current compliance period.
- These charges will now form part of annual regulatory costs for affected operators.
- Standard Rule MCPD permits are already subject to annual charges.
Have you received your invoice?
Many operators have already received their invoices within the last few days. If you haven’t yet received yours, it is expected to arrive shortly.
Action required
These are official and legitimate invoices issued by the Environment Agency and must be paid.
Failure to pay could result in:
- Follow-up action from the Environment Agency
- Potential compliance or enforcement issues
Next steps
- Check your accounts/payments team has received the invoice.
- Ensure payment is processed promptly; as their payment terms are “immediate”.
- There are multiple payment options on the invoice itself, under “Remittance Information”, as well as an option to set up a direct debt.
- We recommend that operators send a copy of their payment confirmation using the instructions, especially if the online payment system is not used, and keep a copy for their records in case of enquiry.
- Contact your Local Environment Agency Regulatory Officer if you believe you should have received an invoice but have not. If you do not know who your Regulatory Officer is, contact the Environment Agency’s Enquiries Team with your permit reference number (EPR/AB12345CD).