Grants and Schemes News: page 23
- April 2022
Supplier allowance reduced by 50% from phase 1 of ECO4
The government has cut the ECO4 supplier allowance by half and set out final scheme rules for 2022 to 2026, with obligations calculated on supply volumes above 150GWh of electricity and 350GWh of gas a year.
Warm Homes Programme consultation completed
The Welsh Government has completed a public consultation on the future of the next Warm Homes Programme, with a new scheme expected from 2023 and a policy direction due by autumn 2022.
WHD rebate value increases to £150 for SY12
Ofgem's annual report confirms the Warm Home Discount rebate rose from £140 to £150 for scheme year 12, with around 750,000 more households supported and a lower supplier participation threshold.
WHD splits into separate England & Wales and Scotland schemes for SY12
The Warm Home Discount split into separate England and Wales and Scotland schemes for 2022-23, with a new Core Group 2 in England and Wales and the rebate rising from £140 to £150.
Zero rate for air source heat pumps begins in GB with eligibility conditions removed
Air source heat pumps became zero rated for VAT in Great Britain on 1 April 2022, with the eligibility conditions that previously restricted the relief removed permanently.
- March 2022
Boiler Upgrade Scheme covers systems commissioned on or after 1 April 2022
Ofgem has confirmed that heat pumps and biomass systems commissioned on or after 1 April 2022 qualify for Boiler Upgrade Scheme support, with installer accounts opening on 11 April and applications from 23 May.
British Gas adds £2 million to Support Fund, taking it to £6 million
British Gas Energy has added £2 million to its Support Fund, taking it to £6 million, to help customers struggling to pay energy bills as living costs and inflation rise.
Cold Weather Payment scheme period ends
The Cold Weather Payment scheme closed for the winter on 31 March 2022, with £25 paid for each seven-day period of very cold weather recorded in a household's area.
Deadline for completion of Green Homes Grant work
The Green Homes Grant voucher scheme closed to new applicants in 2021, and all insulation and low carbon heating work funded through it had to be finished by 31 March 2022.
Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive closes
The Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive closed to new applicants on 31 March 2022, though accreditations have continued since, mainly through transfer of ownership applications.
DWP benefits data matching facility closes for ECO3 eligibility matching
The Department for Work and Pensions benefits data matching facility used to check household eligibility under the Energy Company Obligation closes on 31 March 2022, with reopening unlikely before ECO4.
ECO3 scheme closes with 16 of 26 obligated suppliers still operating
Ofgem's final determination for the Energy Company Obligation 3 scheme shows ten of 26 obligated suppliers left the market during its run, leaving a £135 million shortfall covered by others.
Warm Home Discount payments due by end of March 2022
Households that qualified for the winter 2021/2022 Warm Home Discount were due to receive their one-off payment by 31st March 2022, with applications for that year now closed.
Single unit properties become ineligible for Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme
The government has ended Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme support for single unit properties such as bungalows, detached, semi-detached and terraced housing from April 2022, replacing it with grants aimed at renters, flat owners and landlords.
Additional Household Support Fund funding provided
The Chancellor added £500 million to the Household Support Fund from April 2022, doubling its total to £1 billion, alongside a five-year VAT cut on home energy saving materials.
ECO4 commenced operation in April 2022 with ECO4 Order in force from July 2022
ECO3 closed at the end of March 2022 and ECO4 began in April 2022, though the ECO4 Order did not come into force until July, with a VAT zero rate on energy saving materials starting the same month.
The Value Added Tax (Installation of Energy-Saving Materials) Order 2022 was signed
The Value Added Tax (Installation of Energy-Saving Materials) Order 2022 was signed by two Treasury Lords Commissioners at 11.20 a.m. on 23rd March 2022.
Solar Energy UK and industry groups write to Chancellor urging 0% VAT on domestic renewables
Solar Energy UK and a group of industry and environmental bodies have written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak asking him to cut VAT on domestic renewable and energy efficiency technologies to 0% in the Spring Statement.
Note added on Domestic RHI closure and Boiler Upgrade Scheme successor
A government page on the Renewable Heat Incentive was updated on 4 March 2022 with a note that the Domestic RHI scheme had closed and that the Boiler Upgrade Scheme would succeed it.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme launched
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme opened in March 2022, offering upfront grants towards heat pumps and some biomass boilers in England and Wales, administered by Ofgem and running to 2028.
Chancellor announces further £500 million for the Household Support Fund
The Chancellor announced a further £500 million for the Household Support Fund in the March 2022 Spring Statement, bringing total funding for the scheme to £1 billion since October 2021.
Funding paid to billing authorities
The government paid Council Tax Rebate funding to English billing authorities in March 2022, ahead of £150 payments to households in bands A to D from April.
Government publishes response to PAC report on the Green Homes Grant
BEIS has answered the Public Accounts Committee's criticism of the Green Homes Grant, accepting an unrealistic timetable and promising better design, contractor checks and an evaluation due in August 2023.
Green Homes Grant scheme closes
The Green Homes Grant, which covered up to two-thirds of the cost of energy efficiency works in England, closed in March 2022, leaving households to look to successor schemes.
Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund began delivery
The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund began delivering energy efficiency measures in March 2022, part of a year in which government-backed scheme installations fell 55 per cent.
Spring Statement 2022 expands the VAT relief for ESMs in Great Britain
The government has expanded VAT relief on energy saving materials in Great Britain, setting a temporary zero rate until 31 March 2027 and reinstating wind and water turbines as qualifying materials.
- February 2022
Draft regulations laid before the House
The draft Boiler Upgrade Scheme (England and Wales) Regulations 2022 were laid before Parliament on 25 February 2022, setting up capital grants for heat pumps and, in limited cases, biomass boilers.
Government announced further £67 million for Home Upgrade Grant phase one
The government announced a further £67 million on 21 February 2022, offered to successful local authorities to supplement funding under Home Upgrade Grant phase one.
Statutory instrument closed the DRHI to new applications
Regulations laid in February 2022 closed the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive to new applications and new metering package applications from midnight on 31 March 2022, ending a scheme that had paid support since 2014.
£90m announced for a further fuel support scheme
The Welsh Government announced £90m on 15 February 2022 for a second fuel support scheme, paying £200 to eligible households after the first winter scheme was doubled from £100.