The government has announced funding to insulate low-income households, slashing energy bills for working families.
Around 130,000 low-income households across England could see bills cut by around £400 to £700 a year as their homes receive energy efficiency upgrades through the government’s latest Help to Heat funding. This will include the installation of measures such as external wall and loft insulation, energy efficient doors and windows, heat pumps and solar panels, with multiple measures often being installed in a single home to considerably improve the energy performance.
Up to £1.5 billion is being made available through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Home Upgrade Grant schemes, allowing social housing providers and local authorities to submit bids for funding to upgrade the properties of around 130,000 low-income and social households.
Richard Fuller MP said:
As we take decisive action to reduce energy bills for households and businesses for the next two years, we must also continue our longer-term investment to save households money on bills.
That is why we have announced up to £1.5 billion of funding to make around 130,000 social housing and low-income homes in England warmer and cheaper to live in from early next year, including through home insulation – helping families save around £400 to £700 a year on their energy bills.
Local authorities and social housing providers will be able to submit bids for funding and will deliver upgrades from early next year until March 2025, building on more than 30,000 homes already being upgraded under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Home Upgrade Grant schemes.
This announcement comes in addition to unprecedented government support from 1 October which will help to protect households, businesses and public sector organisations from rising energy costs following Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine.
Thanks to the government’s Energy Price Guarantee, for the next two years, the typical annual household bill will be £2,500, a saving of at least £1,000 a year based on current prices and energy usage. This is on top of existing government plans to give all households £400 off bills this winter. This direct and decisive action means households will receive significant protection from an 80% rise in the Energy Price Cap and won’t see average household bills increase to over £3,500 annually, with some reports predicting bills could have risen as high as £6,500 next year.
There was also no price cap in place for businesses, meaning British companies were also experiencing significant increases in energy costs – in some cases of more than 500% – but thanks to government intervention through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, businesses, public and third sector organisations will pay wholesale energy costs well below half of expected prices for this winter.
The Energy Price Guarantee will limit the amount consumers can be charged for each unit of gas and electricity you use in their home and will apply from 1 October, fixing the unit cost at the equivalent of a £2500 annual bill for a typical household with average gas and electricity use. This will save the average household £1,000 a year based on current energy prices from October. It comes in addition to the announced £400 energy bills discount for all households and together they will bring costs close to where the energy price cap stands today.
Taken together, the government is cutting energy bills by an expected £1,400 this year, and millions of the most vulnerable households will receive additional payments, taking their total savings this year to £2,200.
Meanwhile, the Energy Bill Relief Scheme will reduce wholesale gas and electricity prices for all UK businesses, charities and public sector bodies, such as schools and hospitals, meaning they will pay wholesale energy costs below half of expected prices for this winter. The next wave of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme will also soon open for new applications, with up to £635 million in funding to further support bill savings in the public sector.
