Speaking to Utility Week the EUA’s chief executive Mike Foster has echoed calls from National Grid for the replacement scheme for the current Energy Company Obligation (ECO) to specifically focus on facilitating access to the gas grid for consumers who are already connected or are in close proximity to a gas supply.
He said the Fuel Poor Network Extension scheme has been a “real success story” in the quest to tackle fuel poverty in the UK, which Foster said shows no sign of decreasing in the short term, but many consumers still need help after the initial connection is made.
Foster said as many as 500,000 customers are in close proximity to a gas supply but are not using gas appliances because they can’t afford the retrofit of the boiler and the radiators that would allow them to take advantage of the cheaper unit price of gas.
While some of these customers live in flats which is not suitable for gas heating, for many Foster said that initial upfront cost is just “too great” to get the benefit of cheaper bills.
“That could well be an area where ECO could more closely align with the principle of extending the gas network, on the basis that it’s a cheap fuel,” he added.
National Grid Affordable Warmth Solutions has called for funding for central heating systems in any future energy efficiency scheme to be “ring-fenced”.
It has also called for Ofgem to incentivise network operators to connect communities over individual connections as these are more costly, but are of greater benefit.
The company has been instrumental in setting up a mapping tool designed to allow companies to identify potential homes to connect to the gas grid.
Energy minister Lord Bourne announced in January that a single scheme to replace both ECO and the now defunct Green Deal would not be set out until 2018 but will include a supplier obligation costing £640 million.