Ministers backtrack on energy advice campaign

The government has unveiled a new public energy saving campaign alongside an extension of the ECO (energy company obligation), industry-backed home insulation initiative.

Liz Truss’ government received extensive criticism during her record short tenure as prime minister after she reportedly ruled out a public campaign to encourage customers to cut their energy usage due to concerns that such a move smacked of the “nanny state”.

However, the government has adopted a warmer tone on energy efficiency since Rishi Sunak took over from Truss as prime minister last month.

On Monday (28 November), as part of a broader push to improve energy efficiency, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has announced £18 million to “significantly expand” its Help for Households public advice campaign to help customers reduce their bills.

It says households could typically save £160 a year on bills with no loss of comfort by reducing their boiler flow temperature from 75C to 60C, draught proofing windows and doors and turning down radiators in empty rooms.

The new campaign has been unveiled alongside a £1 billion extension of the ECO scheme.

The new ECO+ scheme will extend support to lower income households living in less energy efficient homes, who do not currently benefit from any other government support to upgrade their properties.

Around 80% of the funding will be made available for those living in lower council tax band homes with Energy Performance Certificate ratings of D or lower.

The remaining fifth of the fund will be targeted at the most vulnerable, including those on means tested benefits or in fuel poverty.

The new scheme extends existing targets on the larger energy suppliers, who are already covered by the existing ECO scheme.

The scheme will focus on delivering single insulation measures to large numbers of households rather than the deeper retrofits for few homes, which ECO4 is designed to deliver.

Consumers will be expected to pay a 10% top up to the ECO+, which is not due to come online until spring next year. The ECO extension is being funded by the government rather than suppliers, unlike the existing scheme.

Around £130 million of the £1 billion ECO+ cash will be allocated for the scheme’s first year with £435 million earmarked for the final two.

The announcement on energy saving come ahead of an expected announcement tomorrow by business and energy secretary Grant Shapps of new measures to foster the UK’s long-term energy security and independence.

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.”

Reaction

Responding to the announcement, Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: “The government’s energy efficiency campaign is a step in the right direction. However, it’s important to remember that everyone’s energy usage is different.

“For those looking to reduce their bills, it’s worth considering what the biggest contributors are to your energy bills and how you might be able to make savings. For example, some people may not be able to cut their heating usage back any further but could turn their boiler flow down or use their appliances more efficiently.

“With energy bills higher than ever, the ECO+ scheme is an important move forward and will help more households to improve the insulation of their homes. This support should be delivered as quickly as possible and underpinned with accessible independent advice and robust consumer protections.”

Louise Shooter, Energy UK policy manager, said it was “great to see” the government’s planned energy saving campaign but added that the ECO extension is less ambitious than the £1 billion per annum package previously proposed by the industry.

Welcoming the announcement of additional ECO funding, Raman Bhatia, chief executive of Ovo, said the UK needs a “vaccination-style intervention to rollout energy efficiency measures and tackle the energy crisis”.

Chris Friedler, energy efficiency policy manager at the Association for Decentralised Energy, said that while ECO+ is a “vital” upgrade of existing energy efficiency efforts, it won’t help households this winter.

He said: “Delays to rollout of ECO+ will now mean it will struggle to be implemented in time for this winter, demonstrating the urgency of early action on energy efficiency. The government also correctly acknowledges that ECO+ is a bridge to wider action and not the end goal of energy efficiency, with plenty of further ambition required in future, such as a more comprehensive coverage for all homes. “