Huhne promises further green deal incentives
The energy secretary has announced consumers who take up the green deal efficiency scheme will receive £150 payments and promised further incentives.
Launching a consultation on secondary legislation needed to implement the scheme, Chris Huhne said the chancellor is considering extra incentives that could be unveiled ‘in a matter of weeks’.
Under the green deal households will be offered free energy efficiency improvements to their homes, with the costs of the work paid off through fuel bill savings.
Organisations that set themselves up as green deal providers will administer the scheme, securing the finance for the work, and then collecting the repayments. They will be able to charge interest on the loans, but the cost of repayments must be less than the fuel bill saving over 25 years.
The consultation also gives details of the energy company obligation, a new £1.3 billion a year fund that energy firms will be obliged to pay into. Green deal providers will be encouraged to apply for ECO subsidy where applicable to allow them to supply products that would not otherwise meet the ‘golden rule’ on repayments.
Rules on eligibility for ECO funding look set to exclude most social housing.
Mr Huhne said the impact of government policies would be to drive down fuel bills.
He told parliament: ‘By 2020, we expect household bills to be 7 per cent – or £94 – lower than they would otherwise be without our policies. Britain’s homes will be cheaper to heat and to light than if we did nothing – in this parliament and in the longer term.’
