Business and Energy Secretary Grant Shapps has launched an extra £1bn to the existing £6.6bn Help to Heat energy schemes to enable hundreds of thousands more households benefit from new home insulation.

Part of wider action this week across energy policy to help the UK meet its ambition of becoming energy independent, the new ECO+ scheme will extend support to those who do not currently benefit from any other Government support to upgrade their homes.

Of the £1 billion funding available through the new ECO+ scheme, around 80 per cent of the funding will be made available for those households who are in some of the least energy-efficient homes in the country – that is, those with an EPC rating of D or below – and in the lower Council Tax bands.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said: “With Putin’s war driving up gas prices worldwide, I know many families are feeling worried about their energy bills this winter and beyond. Our extensive energy support package is insulating people from the worst of this crisis, but we’re also supporting people to permanently cut their costs. In the longer term, we need to make Britain more energy independent by generating more clean, affordable, home-grown power, but we also need more efficient homes and buildings.”

By rolling out predominantly low-cost insulation measures such as loft insulation and cavity wall insulation, the ECO+ scheme will support the Government’s new ambition to reduce the UK’s final energy consumption from buildings and industry by 15 per cent by 2030.

Share Story: