The UK government has announced a new scheme to help households minimise the way they consume energy and lower bills by around £310 every year through insulatating the draughtiest UK homes.
According to the Department for Business, Energy, Industry, and Skills (BEIS), the government plans to offer around £1 billion in grants for UK households not benefiting from other government support to help upgrade homes under the Energy Company Obligation(ECO+) scheme.
Grant Shapps, the Secretary for Business and Energy said the grant would assist millions of Britons to insulate their homes and minimise the cost of energy this winter and beyond.
The grant, which is currently under consultation and will launch in the Spring, will enable UK households to finance low-cost measures like cavity wall and loft insulation.
Around 80% of the funding will be made available for the least energy-efficient homes, which have an EPC rating of D or below with the remaining 20% targeted at those on means-tested benefits or in fuel poverty.
Mr Shapps also announced a new £18m campaign to provide public advice on how to reduce energy bills. He said the ECO+ scheme, which will include measures such as loft insulation, cavity wall insulation and draught proofing, could save consumers around £310 a year on their energy bills.
Grant Shapps said the money would ”enable thousands more to insulate their homes, protecting the pounds in their pockets, and creating jobs across the country”
“A new ECO scheme will enable thousands more to insulate their homes, protecting the pounds in their pockets, and creating jobs across the country,” Shapps said.
“And, in the short term, our new public information campaign will also give people the tools they need to reduce their energy use while keeping warm this winter.”
