"Rachel Reeves announced in her budget that she would cut 150 a year from the average energy bill, partly financed by axing the 1.3bn energy company obligation (ECO) scheme that helped fund upgrades for homes owned or rented by households earning under 31,000. This scheme is due to be end in March. The government plans to launch a warm homes plan to provide funding for heat pumps, insulation and other home upgrades but this has been beset by delays."
"Though the scheme was controversial with some external wall insulation fittings were faulty and had to be replaced it has delivered retrofits to more than 15m homes since 2013, saving 110bn on energy bills. An estimated 23,000 of these had problems with the external wall insulation. Experts warn that uncertainty and the gap between schemes, experts have warned it could trigger job cuts and force some businesses to fold."
"The climate change thinktank E3G estimates the cut will eliminate 10,000 skilled jobs, including many apprenticeships, roughly the same number employed at Jaguar Land Rover's Solihull plant. Anna Moore, McKinsey's former head of UK construction and now a founder at Domna, a retrofit company working with housing associations, social landlords and councils, has written to the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, to request ringfencing for funding for low-income households in the warm homes plan, and for a year's extension."
Cuts to the £1.3bn Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme, scheduled to end in March, remove funding for insulation and heat-pump upgrades for households earning under £31,000. The budget measures aim to cut about £150 a year from average energy bills, partially by axing the ECO scheme. The planned Warm Homes plan to fund heat pumps and insulation has been delayed, creating a gap that could affect an estimated 222,000 retrofit projects. The ECO scheme has delivered retrofits to more than 15 million homes since 2013, saving £110bn on energy bills, though about 23,000 experienced faulty external wall insulation. The funding gap risks job losses and firm failures.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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