ECO+ scheme could cut £400 off households’ bills, claims EDF

Customers benefitting from EDF’s proposed extension of the ECO (Energy Company Obligation) home insulation scheme would save more than £400 per annum when October’s anticipated price cap hike comes into force, the supplier has calculated.

At a webinar, held last week by environmental think tank E3G, EDF policy and regulation senior analyst Keith Watson outlined the company’s proposal for a taxpayer supported extension of the supplier-funded energy efficiency programme dubbed ECO+.

Under EDF’s proposal, the sums allocated to the £1 billion per annum ECO programme would be doubled with funds from general taxation.

The additional cash would be used to subsidise customers who are able to fund part of the work. As the ECO scheme is currently targeted at low-income fuel poor households, this would expand the pool of homes that can be upgraded. According to recent press report, prime minister Boris Johnson has expressed interest in the proposal.

Watson said the extent of households’ savings would depend on whether they installed low-cost upgrades such as cavity wall and loft insultation or more expensive, medium-cost solid wall treatments.

In the case of the former, Watson said a typical household could currently expect to save £269 off their annual energy bill, resulting in payback period of five years. With the introduction of the next price cap in October, the annual saving would rise to £342 and the payback period would drop to 4.2 years.

In case of the latter, the savings would start at £328 per annum with a payback period of 15 years. The introduction of the new price cap would see these numbers change to £418 per annum and 10.7 years respectively.

The fourth phase of the ECO programme was due to be introduced this spring but has yet to receive parliamentary sign off.

Speaking during the same webinar, Peter Smith, director of policy and advocacy at National Energy Action, said there is a “vicious overlap” between households on low incomes and living in the least energy efficient housing.

He said: “It is devastating to see overlap between lowest income households paying far more than they need to. It is right to focus attention on that issue because all too often energy price increases take no account of the needless sums people pay because of the inefficiency of their homes.”