Tens of thousands of low-income households missed out on having energy-efficiency measures installed in their homes last year, just as theAnd now energy industry experts are warning the problems are about to repeat themselves due to delays with a new version of the scheme, which was due to launch this month.
Legislation required for the new scheme was not passed until July, leaving a four-month gap between ECO4 and the previous phase of the scheme. As a consequence, Ofgem did not publish the criteria for claiming under the scheme until the autumn. It is understood that Ofgem was unable to publish its guidance until after the government had finished its consultation on the scheme. The Government published its response to its consultation on 30 March and said it would work with Ofgem to ensure the guidance was published as soon as possible.
“We couldn’t possibly afford that. My mortgage has gone up by £150 a month. Our gas and electric has gone up nine times compared to our flat,” he said. He also installed a wood burner last year as he struggles to keep his house warm with the gas boiler alone.“There’s a big push now to lower emissions. To use less they’re going to have to make these houses more economical.”
Alongside this, there have been delays in the signing of a data sharing agreement between local authorities and Ofgem. Typically, local authorities are able to identify households who they believe will benefit from support in upgrading their home, but most are refusing to pass this information onto Ofgem until the data sharing agreement is in place.
Those who work in the retrofit industry fear the Government is still repeating many of the same mistakes of past failed schemes.