Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Paragraph: 41
While the energy efficiency of two million homes has been successfully upgraded under the ECO,...
Conclusion
While the energy efficiency of two million homes has been successfully upgraded under the ECO, the number of measures installed has reduced significantly in recent years and the Government’s fuel poverty targets are not expected to be met. The inability to use ECO with other sources of funding is hampering the deeper retrofits that are needed in social housing. Since ECO is funded by all energy bill payers, the poorest pay proportionally the most for the benefits from the scheme: this makes it a regressive policy.
Paragraph Reference:
41
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government recognises that households on the lowest incomes are unable to fund the installation of energy efficiency measures and keep their homes warm and comfortable. ECO3 focusses support completely on low income and vulnerable households. Since ECO began, around 3.1million measures have been installed in 2.2million homes, up to the end of February 2021. Through a four-year, £4 billion scheme, we are accelerating our efforts to improve homes to meet fuel poverty targets, including the interim fuel poverty milestone of EPC D by 2025. We intend to design the scheme to complement other government funding, including low- income households in social housing. The Warm Home Discount helps offset policy costs on energy bills by providing a direct rebate to low income and vulnerable households. We are expanding the scheme from 2022 so that it will provide help to around 3 million households across Great Britain. Deeper multi-measure retrofit is required to improve the least energy efficient homes, and we agree that a single home could be upgraded using multiple funding, but to ensure support reaches as many eligible households as possible, blending multiple funding for the same measures could risk duplication of funding and limit support to more low-income households. In the case of ground source heat pumps, this can be an eligible ECO measure even if the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is received, because of the higher up-front cost and long-term benefits of ground source heat pumps (the longevity of the ground loops). The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) will upgrade a significant amount of the social housing stock currently below EPC C up to that standard, delivering warmer and more energy- efficient homes, reducing carbon emissions and bills, and tackling fuel poverty as well as supporting green jobs. BEIS is currently developing the design guidance for the SHDF and during this development, a wide range of possibilities will be examined to ensure its successful delivery.