Energy Independence News
Can you cut your bills by generating your own power? Is battery storage worth it now, and what do the new rules on solar, wind and grid connection mean for your home? Which products and firms are making it easier to go off grid?
Every energy independence story we have reported, newest first: solar, batteries, tariffs, rules and the companies behind them. Each one links to our guides on what it means for you.
- August 2026
Pembrokeshire FRAME secures VCMA funding for two-year energy support project
Wales & West Utilities has awarded VCMA funding to Pembrokeshire FRAME for a two-year project giving energy support to more than 5,000 residents in the county.
- July 2026
CSE reviews its energy mythbuster page
The Centre for Sustainable Energy has reviewed four of its household energy advice pages, restating figures on heat loss, standby costs, Economy 7 and park home insulation.
Met Office declares another heatwave with temperatures above 30°C
The Met Office declared a further heatwave in early July 2026, with temperatures above 30°C expected across much of the country for up to a week.
- June 2026
Energy Saving Trust to continue overseeing Energy Redress Scheme payments under renewed Ofgem contract
Energy Saving Trust has announced a renewed contract with Ofgem to keep overseeing Energy Redress Scheme payments, the body confirmed on 15 June 2026.
ECIU report quantifies household savings from net zero technologies
A report from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit estimates a typical household with insulation, a heat pump, solar with a battery and an electric vehicle saves almost £1,600 in 2026.
Community Energy Fund share offer surpasses £500,000 target
Low Carbon Hub's Community Energy Fund share offer has passed its £500,000 target early and stays open for over-raising up to £1.2 million for a community-owned battery storage project.
- May 2026
Community Energy Scotland publishes guide to energy monitoring in the home
Community Energy Scotland has published a leaflet explaining home energy monitoring, released as part of its Rural Energy Hubs project, covering meters, displays, apps and smart plugs.
- March 2026
Ofgem opens call for input on adapting the energy price cap for MHHS
Ofgem has opened a call for input on how the wholesale allowance within the energy price cap should change to accommodate Market Wide Half-Hourly Settlement, with responses due by 5 May 2026.
Which? runs Spring home improvements campaign
Which? ran a second home energy communications campaign in March 2026, linking homeowners to its Home Energy Planning Service, after a first campaign in autumn 2025.
- December 2025
Draft NPPF consultation published proposing to prevent local authorities from setting local energy standards
A draft National Planning Policy Framework consultation published in December 2025 proposes to stop local authorities setting their own energy efficiency standards in planning policy, with responses due by 10 March.
- October 2025
Low Carbon Hub publishes Your Home Retrofit Guide
Low Carbon Hub has published a free plain-English guide to home retrofit, covering quick wins, planning, funding and local support for households in Oxfordshire and beyond.
MHHS migration scheduled to begin
Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement is scheduled to begin migration in October, in the final year of a framework requiring minimum smart meter coverage of 74.5% of homes and 68.7% of businesses by the end of 2025.
- September 2025
Marketwide Half Hourly Settlement rollout due to begin
Marketwide Half Hourly Settlement is due to begin rolling out from September 2025, a change intended to give suppliers a greater incentive to offer tariffs that reflect real-time costs.
- July 2025
Plymouth Energy Community opens walk-in energy advice hub on Union Street
Plymouth Energy Community has opened a walk-in energy advice hub in the Genesis Building on Union Street, funded by Wales & West Utilities through its Vulnerability and Carbon Monoxide Allowance fund.
- March 2025
Mixergy closes £12 million funding round led by Barclays Climate Ventures
Mixergy has closed a £12 million funding round led by Barclays Climate Ventures, with existing shareholders backing the smart hot water cylinder maker as it moves to a licensing and partnership model.
MHHS rollout to begin over 18 months from spring 2025
Ofgem has confirmed that Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement will be rolled out over 18 months from spring 2025, exposing suppliers to the half-hourly cost of household electricity use.
- February 2025
Industry leaders visit Wyke Farms to hear how biomethane could decarbonise homes and businesses
Wales & West Utilities brought industry bodies to a Somerset cheese farm on 28 February 2025 to hear how biomethane from food and farm waste already heats homes and businesses through the gas grid.
- November 2024
Ofgem approved REC Change Proposal R0209
Ofgem has approved a Retail Energy Code change proposal setting out how Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement arrangements will be implemented across the electricity retail market.
AECB publishes Radical Retrofit resource
The AECB has added a resource titled Radical Retrofit to its Knowledgebase, dated 12 November 2024, with the listing recording 3,133 downloads and no published description of its contents.
- July 2024
Solar Together West Yorkshire opens to the county
Solar Together West Yorkshire ran as a collective buying scheme from July 2024 to May 2025, arranging 645 solar and battery installations at prices quoted as up to 42% below the usual market rate.
- June 2024
Hook Norton community share raise seeks £500,000 to complete sustainable homes with UK-first community microgrid
Hook Norton Community Land Trust is raising £500,000 through a community share offer to complete energy efficient homes in Oxfordshire, with a microgrid reported as a UK first at community level on a site of fewer than 30 homes.
ECIU report finds net zero upgrades could cut household energy imports by 80% by 2030
An Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit report says a household with EPC C efficiency, a heat pump and an electric vehicle could cut its annual imported energy from 17MWh in 2024 to 3.4MWh by 2030.
- March 2024
ECIU analysis finds Government policy pushing UK backwards on energy security
A year after the Government's Powering Up Britain strategy, the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit says recent policy changes have increased the UK's reliance on imported gas and oil.
- January 2024
Sunsave Plus subscription model launched
Sunsave launched Sunsave Plus, a solar subscription with no upfront cost, at the beginning of 2024, offering installation, financing and maintenance through one company under a 20-year guarantee.
- November 2023
Which? warns cheap appliances can carry high running costs
Which? has published test-based annual running costs showing that some low-priced appliances, including a £7 kettle costing £50.74 a year to run, can cost more to run than the average model.
Energy UK publishes analysis on cost of heat market inertia
Energy UK analysis published on 1 November 2023 finds that a two-year delay to heat pump rollout would mean 2.9 million fewer heat pumps by 2030 and £3 billion more gas imports between 2026 and 2030.
- October 2023
National Infrastructure Commission estimates gas network decommissioning cost
The National Infrastructure Commission estimated in October 2023 that decommissioning the gas networks would cost £25 billion, a figure cited by the Committee of Public Accounts in its May 2024 report on decarbonising home heating.
- August 2023
tado° launches Smart Charging app for electric vehicles
tado° has launched a free app that schedules home electric vehicle charging at the cheapest and greenest hours, available in the UK and seven other countries.
- May 2023
ECIU analysis finds UK homes heavily dependent on foreign gas under Government plans
ECIU analysis says current Government policies could leave UK homes sending £500 a year to overseas gas producers by 2035, with import dependency rising to 85%.
- April 2023
ECIU report warns UK energy security incompatible with high gas demand
The Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit has published a report warning that the Government's energy security aim cannot be met while gas demand stays high, as North Sea production declines.