By Business and Energy Secretary Grant Shapps today (Monday 28 November) launches a government push to help millions of people across the country bring down their energy costs for this winter and beyond.
It is part of wider action this week across energy policy to help the UK meet its ambition of becoming energy independent.
Under plans announced today, the new ECO+ scheme will extend support to those who do not currently benefit from any other government support to upgrade their homes.
Joining the existing £6.6 billion ‘Help to Heat’ energy schemes this new £1 billion funding will ensure hundreds of thousands more households benefit from new home insulation and with that, lower bills.
Plus a new £18 million public information campaign will also offer technical tips and advice for people to cut their energy use, while also keeping warm this winter.
Alongside the impact on their bills from the Energy Price Guarantee, the campaign will demonstrate how consumers can make significant savings.
Of the £1 billion funding available through the new ECO+ scheme, around 80% of the funding will be made available for those households who are in some of the least energy-efficient homes in the country – that is, those with an EPC rating of D or below – and in the lower Council Tax bands.
This will benefit those households who do not currently benefit from any other government support to upgrade their homes.
Around a fifth of the fund will also be targeted to those who are the most vulnerable, including those on means tested benefits or in fuel poverty.
On top of this, the government will significantly expand its Help for Households campaign to help customers to reduce their own household energy usage and bills, while also giving vulnerable groups the right information for doing this without harming their health.
This includes promoting some of the government’s top recommended actions to help households save money on their energy bills, such as:
- reducing the temperature a boiler heats water to before it is sent to radiators (known as the boiler flow temperature) from 75⁰C to 60⁰C
- turning down radiators in empty rooms
- reducing heating loss from the property such as by draught proofing windows and doors
It also comes ahead of the Business and Energy Secretary setting out his latest package of measures to deliver home-grown, affordable energy – helping to cut bills and bolster the country’s long-term energy security and independence.
Business and Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said:
“The government put immediate help in place to support households in the wake of global energy price rises caused by Putin’s illegal march on Ukraine.
Today, we launch the first of many measures to ensure the British public are never put in this position again as we work towards an energy independent future.
A new ECO scheme will enable thousands more to insulate their homes, protecting the pounds in their pockets, and creating jobs across the country.
And in the short term, our new public information campaign will also give people the tools they need to reduce their energy use while keeping warm this winter.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said:
“With Putin’s war driving up gas prices worldwide, I know many families are feeling worried about their energy bills this winter and beyond.
Our extensive energy support package is insulating people from the worst of this crisis, but we’re also supporting people to permanently cut their costs.
In the longer term, we need to make Britain more energy independent by generating more clean, affordable, home-grown power, but we also need more efficient homes and buildings.
Our new ECO+ scheme will help hundreds of thousands of people across the UK to better insulate their homes to reduce consumption, with the added benefit of saving families hundreds of pounds each year.”
Making homes more energy efficient is the best way to cut household energy use and is already helping reduce household energy bills, while also creating jobs across the country.
Since it was launched in January 2013, the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) schemes have delivered as many as 3.5 million energy-efficiency measures in around 2.4 million homes.
The ECO+ scheme, which will run from spring 2023 for up to 3 years, extends that support even further and will see hundreds of thousands of households receive new insulation, saving them around £310 a year.
By rolling out predominantly low-cost insulation measures such as loft insulation and cavity wall insulation, the ECO+ scheme will support the government’s new ambition to reduce the UK’s final energy consumption from buildings and industry by 15% by 2030.
The £1 billion scheme is backed by a new £6 billion investment to contribute to the existing £6.6 billion energy efficiency funding pot.
The new funding pot will also provide long-term funding certainty across for the industry, supporting the growth of supply chains and green jobs in the sector, as the government takes further action to tackle fuel poverty and reduce energy bills.
Improving the energy efficiency of UK homes is a crucial part of the government’s strategy.
As a result of government support so far, the number of homes with an energy efficiency rating of C or above is at 46% and rising, up from just 13% in 2010.
Government are investing over £6.6 billion over this Parliament to help decarbonise homes and buildings, and to ensure all homes meet EPC band C by 2035.
An additional £6 billion of new government funding will be made available from 2025 to 2028.
To further support households and help meet the government’s new energy demand reduction target, the government has also expanded its public awareness campaign to help reduce bills for households and protect vulnerable people over the winter and beyond.
The Government are currently consulting on the design of the ECO+ scheme and there is clearly a great deal of support for loft insulation.
However, the Homeowners Alliance are concerned about whether spray foam insulation makes it on the list.
At the moment those who have spray foam insulation in their homes cannot sell or get equity release unless they spend thousands removing it.
This is because the lenders won’t lend. And to make matters worse, the government is training installers under its Skills for Life programme.
Commenting on the situation, HomeOwners Alliance Chief Executive Paula Higgins said:
“For years spray foam roof insulation has been on a government list of approved measures.
And homeowners have been able to access government grants to reduce the cost of installing it in their homes.
So we are shocked and dismayed that homeowners doing the right thing are now being financially penalised: they either pay over the odds to remove the spray foam or remain stuck with homes they will find difficult to remortgage or sell.
Before it makes it to ECO+scheme government needs to sort the mess out.
Homeowners can’t be expected to pay for government-backed energy efficient measures only to have to pay twice over again to get it removed when they come to sell or remortgage.
If lenders and surveyors can’t agree a sensible view on spray foam insulation then homeowners need to be warned up-front and the government needs to require insulation companies to run a warning of the consequences of installation on their marketing material.”
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