The Insulated Render and Cladding Association (INCA) has published an open letter to the Prime Minister urging the Government to reconsider the proposed 75% reduction in the target for solid wall insulation (SWI) under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO).
The letter, which is supported by three industry groups with a shared interest in energy efficiency refurbishment, highlights that the proposed changes to ECO set out in the recent Government consultation will result in significantly lower costs for energy suppliers potentially creating a £1-2 billion windfall which could be used to increase the SWI minimum without raising costs for consumers.
There are eight million British households living in solid wall homes, including almost half of the country’s ‘fuel poor’ families, who have paid £2.7 billion into energy efficiency obligations through their energy bills over the last decade and received very little in return.
If the proposed changes to ECO are introduced, these households will continue to subsidise energy efficiency measures for wealthier households whilst struggling to access much needed support themselves.
The letter from INCA also points to new independent research into the substantial economic and wider benefits of SWI for the UK which states that “energy efficiency is the only long-term solution to rising energy costs, and the Government needs to re-establish a clear vision of the role it sees for SWI”.
Up Against The (Solid) Wall: What Changes To The ECO Mean For Energy Efficiency Policy, published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) on 28 April, reveals that:
- a programme supporting the insulation of 100,000 solid walls every year would support up to 29,340 jobs; plans to reduce SWI under ECO put 20,000 jobs risk;
- the cost to Government of investing in SWI programmes is offset by 50-100% through tax receipts and other revenue streams paid to the Exchequer;
- SWI programmes generate a number of wider community benefits with major impacts on health, regeneration and social capital.
The IPPR report concludes: “Consumers are looking to politicians for long-term protection from rising energy prices. A greater focus on supporting energy efficiency, rather than on cutting ambition to grab short-term savings, is the only way to achieve this...
"It is vital that the government moves quickly to establish a consistent approach in its support for SWI, one that takes the full range of costs and benefits of this technology into account.”
