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More investment needed to end fuel poverty |
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Wednesday, 09 December 2009 |
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The Association for the Conservation of Energy [1] welcomed the announcement of an additional £200m for energy efficiency in today's Pre-Budget Report, but warned that more investment is needed to end fuel poverty. The organisation particularly welcomed the £50m boiler scrappage scheme, which will encourage the replacement of up to 125,000 old and inefficient boilers, helping to cut fuel bills and fuel poverty.
However, the energy saving group warned that the additional £150m for fuel poverty measures was not even enough to maintain Warm Front spending at 2009-10 levels [2] and called on the Government not to abandon the fuel poor.
Commenting on the Pre-Budget Report, ACE Parliamentary Coordinator Jenny Holland said:
"We welcome the announcement of a scheme to encourage the replacement of old and inefficient boilers. New boiler sales have fallen by nearly 10% over the last year, so this scheme will provide a welcome boost for jobs at a difficult time for the industry. Since each boiler upgrade will knock £235 off the average fuel bill, this is good news for hard-pressed householders too."
She continued:
"Today's announcement of an extra £150m for Warm Front fuel poverty measures doesn't even make up for the expected £174m cut in this budget next year. The Government will fail in its statutory duty to end fuel poverty by 2016 unless more investment is forthcoming."
ENDS
For more information, please contact: Jenny Holland, 020 7359 8000
Notes to Editors
[1] The Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE) is a lobbying, campaigning and policy research organisation, and has worked in the field of energy efficiency since 1981. Our lobbying and campaigning work represents the interests of our membership: major manufacturers and distributors of energy saving equipment in the United Kingdom. Our policy research is funded independently, and is focused on four key themes: policies and programmes to encourage increased energy efficiency; the environmental benefits of increased energy efficiency; the social impacts of energy use and of investment in energy efficiency measures; and organisational roles in the process of implementing energy efficiency policy.
[2] According to a House of Commons Written Answer dated 26 November 2009 by DECC Fuel Poverty Minister David Kidney MP, planned Government funding for the Warm Front scheme in financial year 2010-2011 is £195m. This compares with spending in financial year 2009-10 of £369m – a reduction of £174m.
[3] According to the Energy Saving Trust, replacing an old inefficient boiler with a modern condensing one including modern heating controls can save £235 on the average fuel bill: http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Energy-saving-assumptions |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 05 January 2010 )
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