The Department of Energy & Climate Change recently announced an open consultation on the Energy Company Obligation, which is also an obligation under the EU’s Energy Efficiency Directive. This consultation closes at 16 April 2014.
The proposals contained in The Future of the Energy Company Obligation consultation were highlighted as part of Government’s announcement on 2 December 2013 to reduce pressures on consumer bills and ensure ECO provides value for money for energy consumers; whilst continuing to help tackle fuel poverty, support the development of a sustainable energy efficiency supply chain and improve the energy efficiency of our housing stock.
The key proposals include the extension of the scheme to 2017, modifying the eligibility criteria for Carbon Saving Communities Obligation (CSCO) and allowable primary measures under Carbon Emissions Reduction Obligation (CERO) to ensure it is easier and cheaper to deliver, and to reduce the 2015 CERO obligation by 33 per cent. Alongside the changes trailed in the December announcement, we are further taking this opportunity to put forward a number of other improvements to ECO based on the experience of delivering the scheme since it commenced at the beginning of 2013. These include proposals to make ECO easier to administer, easier for customers to understand, and easier to access in rural and off-grid areas.
This consultation is a key opportunity to make sure that the way they implement these changes are as effective as possible, taking account of the needs of the industry and the experience of delivering ECO over the last year. It is very much our intention, based on the range of proposals in this consultation, to place ECO on a firm footing for the future.
Information on the consultation is available on the Government’s website.
No doubt, as all Europe implements the EED, they will be following this consultation with great interest.
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 