The Government’s plans to help Britons heat their homes and switch to greener technology such as heat pumps have been pushed back into next year in a blow to the energy industry.
Rachel Reeves has committed £15bn to Ed Miliband’s warm homes plan, which was originally supposed to be published in the autumn before being delayed until December.
Details of how the money will be spent will not now be published until January, The i Paper understands. Energy sector insiders have previously warned that the delays are slowing the rollout of heat pumps – intended eventually to provide the heating for nearly all the UK’s homes – because of uncertainty over whether the existing £7,500 subsidy for installing one will continue or not.
Charity campaigners have also complained about the plan being pushed back, while the Conservatives have accused the Government of increasing energy costs for consumers.
Part of the warm homes plan is the boiler upgrade scheme, which provides a grant of £7,500 to homeowners who switch from a gas boiler to a heat pump.
In the summer, the Government said this scheme would be extended until 2030 with its funding increasing every year. But it is currently unclear whether the per-household subsidy will remain in its current form or be cut back.
Other aspects of the warm homes plan include targeted support for the most vulnerable families, and a system of state-backed loans which will make it cheaper to upgrade your home and make it more energy efficient.
At the recent Budget, the Chancellor announced she would cut the average energy bill by £150 a year by removing green levies. The warm homes plan is expected to set out how environmental schemes will be funded after the levies have been scrapped.
Miliband, the Energy Secretary, argues that pushing for a faster green transition cuts costs for consumers and will use the warm homes plan to bolster this claim – although others in Government are sceptical about his agenda.
A spokesman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “We are investing an additional £1.5bn into our warm homes plan, taking it to nearly £15bn – the biggest ever public investment to upgrade homes and tackle fuel poverty ever. We are doubling down on support for home upgrades and will set out our plans to help households, and support thousands more clean energy jobs, soon.”
But James Dyson of consultancy E3G warned: “After a year and a half in office, the Government is still without a credible plan to help households struggling with record high energy bills, and to give businesses the confidence to grow and invest in upskilling workers in future-proof jobs.
“Home upgrades, which include solar panels and cost-effective insulation, can help people cut their energy bills by hundreds of pounds. Government playing politics is delaying making these upgrades affordable and accessible.”
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Simon Francis of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition added: “Every week of delay to the warm homes plan means households are stuck in cold, damp homes for longer. And every week of delay also means more pressure on the NHS as it has to deal with the health consequences of people living with mould and cold, and delays mean more uncertainty for supply chains who deliver energy efficiency measures.
“After five years of the energy bills crisis and 18 months of a Government elected to deliver a comprehensive warm homes plan, people cannot wait indefinitely for a clear strategy to make homes warmer, safer and cheaper to heat.”
Claire Coutinho, the Conservatives’ shadow Energy Secretary, said: “Labour’s warm homes plan was supposed to cut bills for families by £500 a year – but bills have gone up by almost £200 since the election and Ed Miliband is set to pile on even more costs in the new Year. These delays are a symptom of a Government which keeps trying and failing to rein in Ed Miliband’s ideology but is too weak to do so, leaving the public to foot the bill.”
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