# What must a carbon credit methodology require for monitoring under the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) rules, and what if a meter fails?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/ccp-monitoring-plan-meter-failure-conservative-deduction

The framework expects a methodology to require a monitoring plan with named responsibilities, a method for every parameter, representative or conservative data, quality checks such as cross-checking other data, and a procedure for conservative deduction of reductions when equipment or procedures fail or are interrupted.

## The six monitoring approaches (criterion 10.8)

1. An operational and management plan for monitoring that assigns responsibilities and sets out the monitoring process.
2. A specified monitoring approach for every parameter needed to quantify the reductions or removals.
3. Measurements, sampling, third-party data (such as studies, statistics or satellite data) and default values that are robust, statistically representative or conservative.
4. Choices of approach, data, measurement method or default value that address uncertainty and lead to a conservative estimate.
5. Quality assurance and quality control, such as cross-checking monitoring results with other sources of data.
6. A plan or procedure for conservative treatment and deduction of reductions or removals in case of unexpected interruption or errors in monitoring equipment or procedures.

## When the site cannot be reached

Methodologies may allow alternative monitoring approaches when an activity is inaccessible for temporary periods, for example in a conflict zone or under movement restrictions such as a pandemic.

## What to put in place now

- Name who reads each meter and how often, and who backs them up.
- Cross-check a meter against something independent, such as the utility bill for electricity or the fuel invoice for diesel.
- Write down in advance what you will do for a day the meter is dead, so the gap is handled by a rule and not by guesswork.

## A 30-day month with a meter outage

- Metered saving: 1,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) a day on the days the meter works
- Meter dead for 9 days, so 30 minus 9 = 21 days measured
- Counting only measured days: 21 x 1,000 = 21,000 kWh instead of 30 x 1,000 = 30,000 kWh
- At 0.675 kilograms (kg) of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kWh (grid factor for financial year (FY) 2025-26): 21,000 x 0.675 = 14,175 kg, against 20,250 kg if the gap were filled in

Counting nothing for the dead days is our example of one conservative treatment. Your methodology says what it requires.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into monthly records, which gives a project its own fuel and power history. Credits are issued by the program's registry and checked by an independent verifier, not by Senseible's own check. Utility bills give the cross-check for a power meter.

- [Carbon Credit Trading Scheme offset monitoring plan and meter rules](https://senseible.earth/answers/ccts-offset-monitoring-plan-meter-rules)
- [Carbon Credit Trading Scheme monitoring and verification requirements](https://senseible.earth/answers/ccts-monitoring-verification-requirements)
- [Monitoring records for an efficiency or fuel switch project](https://senseible.earth/answers/ccts-bm-in02-001-monitoring-records)
- [Free calculators](https://senseible.earth/calculators)

Sources: [Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market, Core Carbon Principles Assessment Framework, Section 4, January 2024, version 1.1 (criterion 10.8)](https://icvcm.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/CCP-Section-4-V1.1-FINAL-15May24.pdf)

Last reviewed 2026-11-05. Based on Assessment Framework version 1.1 (January 2024). The Integrity Council's August 2026 rule architecture says Interpretations and Technical Notices may affect how criteria are assessed, so check icvcm.org for any in effect before you rely on a detail.