Energy Company Obligation

(asked on 12th January 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of effectiveness of the Energy Company Obligation in respect of tackling fuel poverty and climate change; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Greg Hands Portrait
Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This question was answered on 17th January 2022

The Energy Company Obligation Scheme has been in place since January 2013 and has delivered around 3.3 million improvements in 2.3 million homes up to the end of October 2021.

To date, the Energy Company Obligation Scheme has delivered £6.6 billion in Lifetime Bill Savings up to the end of October 2021 and an estimated lifetime energy saving of 211,300 Gigawatt Hours.

Since the Energy Company Obligation Scheme began in 2013, the average energy efficiency rating in England has increased from 59, to 66 in 2020. During that same period, 2012-2019, the number of fuel poor households in England fell from 4.4million to 3.2million.

In September 2019, the Department appointed Kantar to undertake a scheme evaluation, reporting in late 2022. The initial findings of the evaluation show that overall, more than half of households surveyed (57%) said they had benefitted a fair amount or a great deal from having the energy saving measures installed. Benefits cited by participants included savings on energy bills, a more comfortable temperature in the home and reduced worry about heating their home.

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