National Energy Action (NEA) published its response to a Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) consultation on phasing out the installation of fossil fuel heating in homes off the gas grid on 13 January 2022. The charity said it broadly agrees with the plan but wants guarantees on support for the households least able to pay for the change.
"NEA broadly agrees with plans to phase out fossil heating, but BEIS must ensure that homes off the gas grid receive adequate support to decarbonise"
NEA's response sets out two conditions for the transition: that homes off the gas grid receive adequate support to decarbonise, including through funding hybrid heating technologies, and that there is sufficient awareness and advice around any move away from fossil fuels in those homes1. It points to the scale of the task, saying 680,000 fuel poor homes in England lived in the least efficient homes in 2019 and that over 3 million fuel poor households need to be prioritised for retrofits if net zero is to be met alongside statutory fuel poverty targets1. It adds that more than 80% of fuel poor households in Wales live in inefficient homes, and over 70% in Scotland1.
On funding, NEA says the Heat and Buildings Strategy "did not provide the funding that was set out in the Conservative manifesto pledge relating to the Home Upgrade Grant, falling £1.4bn the pledge"1. It states that this reduction in ambition means 112,000 off gas grid fuel poor households will receive financial support to decarbonise their home, and that a total energy saving of £84m a year is being missed by some of the poorest households living in the least efficient homes1. NEA also notes that 130,000 fuel poor households are still reliant on the most polluting fuels1.
The response covers the gas distribution networks' Social Obligation to connect fuel poor households to their network at a subsidised cost. NEA says all GDNs have planned to continue connecting fuel poor households throughout the current price control period, from 2021 to 2026, with plans already agreed with Ofgem1. It warns that the consultation's proposals will make it harder for GDNs to deliver those outcomes, and recommends that ECO 4 funding for first time central heating be allowed only where carbon savings can be achieved, with hybrid systems as a minimum1.
| Measure | Figure given by NEA |
|---|---|
| Fuel poor homes in England in the least efficient homes, 2019 | 680,000 |
| Fuel poor households needing priority for retrofits | Over 3 million |
| Fuel poor households reliant on the most polluting fuels | 130,000 |
| Off gas grid fuel poor households to receive support | 112,000 |
| Shortfall against the Home Upgrade Grant manifesto pledge | £1.4bn |
On awareness, NEA reports that in its Fuel Poverty Monitor 2020/21 call for evidence, which drew 122 respondents across the UK, two thirds agreed there is low awareness of emerging low carbon technologies among energy advisors and eight in ten agreed there is a lack of advice to households on how to use low carbon heating technologies1. It also refers to the ban on certain types of heating in 2020, saying there was a lack of effort to raise awareness that the ban was coming1.
Why it matters for households
For a home off the gas grid, the practical question raised by the consultation is what happens when an existing heating system reaches the end of its life. NEA's central argument is that without accessible funding, that moment becomes a crisis rather than a planned upgrade, because the household cannot respond to a regulatory trigger point1. Its figures on the fuel poverty gap make the same point in cash terms: fuel poor households off the gas grid face average excess fuel costs of £480 a year, almost triple the £162 average for fuel poor households on gas1. The response also notes that using gas to heat homes is currently often cheaper than other fuel types, which is why it argues for hybrid systems and for first time central heating where carbon savings can be shown1. For homes that cannot connect, the alternative is insulation and a low carbon heating system, and NEA's evidence is that advice on how to run those systems is thin1.
What happens next
The response is NEA's submission to the BEIS consultation. No date for the government's final proposals is given in the response, and no decision has been reported1.