As the government unveiled its £15 billion Warm Homes Plan to tackle fuel poverty across the country, the focus must now be on its effective delivery.
Carl Bairstow, Director of Operations at EN:Procure said the programme could make a real difference to households most exposed to rising energy costs.
“Fuel poverty continues to blight the lives of many low-income households, particularly in social housing, where residents often experience poor energy efficiency and rising fuel costs.
“The scale of the Warm Homes Plan suggests a change in focus will be required – scaling up the lowest-cost insulation measures alongside a substantial increase in rooftop solar, battery storage and the uptake of heat pumps.”
We welcome the plan’s ambition, but delivery at this scale is likely to require new ways of working across the sector. “In my view, delivering retrofit at this level will increasingly depend on coordinated, area-based approaches, rather than isolated schemes.
“That will require strong partnership working across social landlords, local and combined authorities, energy network operators and the wider supply chain.”
“There are significant financial, technical and timescale challenges in scaling up solar and battery storage at pace, particularly in areas with complex housing stock. These barriers will need to be addressed quickly if delivery at scale is to succeed.”
Efficiency North has enabled collaboration across public sector procurement for more than 20 years, giving us a close view of the practical challenges involved in carrying through large-scale programme implementations.
“Getting this right will mean aligning national ambition with local delivery and ensuring coordination is built into the system from the outset. If it is, the Warm Homes Plan can deliver lasting reductions in energy bills and meaningful improvements to the lives of those households most affected.”
EN:Procure
EN:Able Futures
EN:Able Communities