The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is a government energy saving scheme in the UK designed to tackle energy poverty and help reduce carbon emissions. ECO4 is the latest version of this program and is applicable from April 2022 to March 2026. The main aim of ECO4 is to provide heating and energy saving measures for UK households
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Key policies and features of the ECO4 program:
Eligible:
ECO4 aims to support the lowest income households. Households receiving vehicle testing subsidies will be eligible for the program. In addition, ECO4 Flex, a voluntary component of the program, will target low-income households that do not receive subsidies. Eligible stock would include at least 3.5 million homes.
Target house:
Only homes in the D-G energy efficiency category are eligible for ECO4. For social housing and private rental housing, the program will only focus on supporting less efficient housing in the E-G groups.
Minimum criteria:
ECO4 targets a minimum of 150,000 private homes (up from previous iterations) in need of improvement, focusing on those that need the most significant improvement.
Solid wall measurements:
The program has a solid minimum target of 90,000 measures over a four-year period.
Improvements to the heating system:
There is a limit of 5,000 per year to replace broken boilers and electric storage heaters (ESHs) with efficient heating systems. Repairs will also be limited to 5,000 homes per year, under certain conditions.
Encourage innovation:
The ECO4 offers two enhancements to innovation, rewarding innovations that go beyond the standard counterparts currently on the market. The demonstration action will be deleted. Rural areas that do not use gas:
To encourage deliveries to gas-free rural areas in Scotland and ECO4 Wales, ECO4 offers a point increase of 35%.
The Distribution Guidelines for ECO4, administered by Ofgem, provide insights into how suppliers and the broader supply chain can provide qualifying measures to contribute to ECO goals. It covers topics such as supplier compliance, household eligibility criteria, approved measurements, determination of ECO savings, measurement notification process, point tracking requirements digital and technical, as well as anti-fraud and audit procedures.
To check eligibility for the ECO4 program, individuals can use the online eligibility checker provided by ECO4 Energy, a government-supported program. This program is intended to help qualified private homeowners, homeowners and renters rely on income-related benefits or through flexible qualifying grants from local governments.
In a nutshell, the UK’s ECO4 scheme is a comprehensive effort to promote energy efficiency, tackle fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions by providing energy-saving measures. for eligible households. It sets specific goals for improvement, rewards innovation, and encourages deliveries to gas-free rural areas.