Beyond Biomass: UpEnergy Electric Cooking-VPA 1

Audit Analysis

The UpEnergy electric cooking project in Uganda has a VVB-confirmed additionality assessment and a quantified 5% leakage deduction, but suffers from a striking discrepancy between the monitoring report's claimed ERR (143,455) and the verification report's verified figure (637), a project-specific baseline with no stated reassessment date, and no buffer pool or reversal-risk treatment. Multiple contradictions across documents on monitoring method, FNRB source, and crediting period further erode confidence in the data chain.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠The monitoring report (Sep 2024) reports a claimed ERR of 143,455 while the verification report (Feb 2025) verifies only 637 — a 225-fold gap that is unexplained in the available documents and raises serious questions about baseline assumptions or data integrity.
• ⚠No buffer pool percentage is stated and reversal events are explicitly 'not addressed,' leaving the 5-year crediting period exposed to cookstove replacement or abandonment risk with no financial backstop.
• ⚠The monitoring method is reported as 'smart meter' in the verification report but 'annual survey' in the monitoring report — a fundamental MRV inconsistency that undermines confidence in the verified usage rate of 100%.
• ⚠CORSIA eligibility and CCP status are not stated in any available document, leaving the double-claiming risk unassessed.

Credit Vintages