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GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES - WHERE
ARE WE UP TO?
First it was EEC, then CERT
arrived shortly followed by CESP, yet the
current buzz word is GREEN DEAL ... what
do these Government backed energy saving initiatives mean
and what do they look to achieve?
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| PHASE
1: EESoP |
1994
- 2002 |
| Energy Efficiency
Standards of Performance |
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The forerunner of
EEC was the ‘Energy Efficiency Standards of
Performance’ (EESoP), which ran from 1994
to 2002 and was jointly developed and managed by
Ofgem
(initially Offer) and the Energy Saving Trust. EESoP1
ran from 1994 to 1998 and set targets for electricity
suppliers, with the majority of measures being provided
to disadvantaged customers.
EESoP2 ran from 1998
to 2000 with targets set for electricity suppliers.
EESoP3 ran from 2000 to 2002, and extended the targets
to gas, as well as electricity, suppliers. In both
EESoP2 and EESoP3 the suppliers were required to
focus around two thirds of their expenditure on
disadvantaged customers.
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| Energy Efficiency
Commitment |
The
first Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC) scheme ran
from 2002 to 2005 and the second ran from 2005 to 2008.
As with the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT),
an overall target was set by Defra
and this was apportioned to individual gas and electricity
suppliers in relation to the supplier’s domestic
consumer numbers, by Ofgem.
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EEC, while differing in several
important ways, built on the success and basic methodology
of EESoP. The targets for the first EEC were over three
times those for EESoP3 and equivalent to around a 1 per
cent reduction in carbon emissions from domestic sources.
EEC2 was the second phase
of EEC and ran from 2005 to 2008. EEC2 had a similar structure
to EEC although the target was more than double (130TWh).
EEC2 required at least 50 per cent of the target to be met
in relation to Priority Group consumers, defined as those
in receipt of certain income-related benefits and tax credits.
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| PHASE
3: CERT |
2008
- 2012 |
| Carbon Emissions Reduction Target |
The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target
(CERT) is the third phase and came into effect in April
2008, obliging electricity and gas suppliers in Great Britain
to help reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from homes.
The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target aims were primarily
to reduce CO2 emissions, one of the main causes of climate
change. CERT came into effect in April 2008 and obliged
UK energy companies to take steps to ensure that the amount
of CO2 emissions from homes was reduced.
CERT is to be effective for three years (2008-2012), with
the target of making an annual net saving of 4.2 million
tonnes of CO2 by the end of the programme, and this new
phase doubles the targets of EEC2, which started in April
2005.
Suppliers meet their targets by setting up schemes
to deliver reductions in carbon emissions, e.g. delivering
loft insulation, cavity wall insulation or external
wall insulation to low income households.
Under CERT activity at least 40 per cent of the target must
be targeted at certain low-income domestic consumers or
those who are over 70 years old and on certain credits and
benefits called the 'Priority Group'. In addition 16.2 million
lifetime tonnes of carbon dioxide must be targeted at the
Super Priority Group which includes people claiming specific
credits and benefits income-related Employment and Support
Allowance, income-based Job Seeker's allowance, Income Support
and State Pension Creditor or who have parental responsibility
for a child under 5 years of age who lives with them; hence
the programme also contributes to the government’s
Fuel Poverty Strategy.
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Ofgem
have procedures in place to assess suppliers’
schemes, and to oversee progress and compliance. Ofgem
must be satisfied that the measures delivered through
a supplier’s scheme will result in an improvement
in energy efficiency and therefore a reduction in
carbon emissions. |
The government has committed to the continuous
delivery of carbon savings from the domestic sector using
some form of supplier obligation until at least 2020.
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| PHASE
4: CESP |
2009
- 2012 |
| Community Energy Saving Programme |
The Community Energy Saving Programme
(CESP) has been created as part of the government's Home
Energy Saving Programme (HESP).
The CESP obligation period will run from
1 October 2009 to 31 December 2012 and the Order requires
all licensed gas and electricity suppliers that have at
least 50,000 domestic customers and all licensed electricity
generators that have generated on average 10 TWh/yr or more
in a specified three year period, to meet a carbon reduction
obligation.
The Order requires the UK's main energy
suppliers and (for the first time) electricity generators
to comply with an overall carbon emissions reduction target
of 19.25 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO2).
CESP promotes a “whole house”
approach i.e. a package of energy efficiency measures best
suited to the individual property.
The programme is delivered through the development of community-based
partnerships between Local Authorities (LAs), community
groups, energy companies and key suppliers such as Wetherby,
via a house-by-house, street-by-street approach. This partnership
allows CESP to be implemented in a way that is best suited
to individual areas and coordinated with other local and
national initiatives.
CESP is expected to deliver up to £350m of efficiency
measures. Around 100 schemes are expected, benefiting around
90,000 homes and saving nearly 2.9m tonnes of CO2 emissions.
CESP is expected to deliver annual average fuel bill savings
for those households involved of up to £300.
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| PHASE
5: GREEN DEAL |
2012
- ???? |
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The Energy
Bill introduced to Parliament on 8 December
2010 by the Department
for Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
includes provision for the new 'Green Deal',
which is intended to revolutionise the energy efficiency
of British properties.
The Government is establishing
a framework to enable private firms to offer consumers
energy efficiency improvements to their homes, community
spaces and businesses at no upfront cost, and to
recoup payments through a charge in instalments
on the energy bill.
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Why is the Green Deal needed?
At a local level, the Green Deal will enable many households
and businesses to improve the energy efficiency of their properties
without consuming so much energy and wasting so much money.
A quarter of the UK’s carbon emissions comes from the
energy we use to heat our homes, and a similar amount comes
from our businesses, industry and workplaces.
At a national level, the UK needs to become more energy efficient
to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, which risk dangerous
climate change. The Climate Change Act 2008 legislated for
a reduction in our carbon emissions and set legally-binding
carbon budgets across all sectors of the UK economy —
including our homes and communities, and our workplaces.
This phase is still very much in it's
infancy however, you can find more information about the
Green Deal in the following policy document /leaflet:
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| HOW
WILL WETHERBY HELP ACHIEVE THESE GOALS? |
| Wetherby
External Wall Insulation Systems ... |
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Protect and prolong the external
fabric of a property |
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Improve thermal performance - reduce
heating bills |
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Significantly reduce
domestic CO2 emissions |
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Offer a major aesthetic improvement |
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Help to eliminate damp, condensation
and mould growth |
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Can be installed whilst occupants
still in residence |
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BBA approved to last in excess of
30 years |
For further information - visit the
REFURBISHMENT section of
our website
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