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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of offsetting domestic Renewable Heat Incentive overpayments, where the original Energy Performance Certificate was undertaken incorrectly by the RHI systems original installer, in the event that that installer has since gone into liquidation.

In cases where Ofgem, the scheme administrator, finds that an EPC is inaccurate, and that the RHI scheme participant has been overpaid, Ofgem are required to request that the overpayment is repaid, in order to ensure that public funds are properly accounted for Ofgem generally try to show flexibility with regard to how funds are recovered, and usually allow repayments to be offset against future RHI payments. RHI Payments are recovered from the participant (and not the installer or EPC assessor), because it was the scheme participant that entered a contractual obligation with Ofgem when the RHI application was made.

It is usually not directly relevant whether or not the installer has since gone into liquidation, because it is not the installer who usually carries out the EPC assessment. EPC assessments must be carried out by a qualified EPC assessor; therefore, unless the installer is both Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certified and an accredited EPC assessor, the EPC assessment must be carried out by a different person or organisation.