Ofgem published the first listed version of the ECO4 Delivery Guidance on 14 October 2022, alongside version 1.0 of the ECO4 Measures Table, dated 11 October 20221. The guidance sets out Ofgem's procedures for administering the Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2022, under which energy suppliers must deliver energy efficiency measures to domestic premises3. The overall obligation period for ECO4 runs from the commencement date of the ECO4 Order on 27 July 2022 to 31 March 20263.
The measures table lists which measures suppliers can install to meet their obligations, by measure type and tenure2. For local authority flex projects, the property must be a private domestic premises with a pre-project SAP band of D, E, F or G for owner-occupied homes, or E, F or G for privately rented homes; under route 2, only SAP band E, F or G are eligible2. Privately rented E to G premises must receive one of solid wall insulation, renewable heating or a district heating connection, and electric room heaters to electric storage heaters is not an eligible measure2.
The guidance confirms that in-fill homes, whether flats or houses, are not required to meet the project minimum requirement or the minimum insulation requirement, and that in-fill measures cannot be transferred until all in-fill and primary measures are approved3. Projects delivered in rural off-gas properties in Wales and Scotland receive an uplift of 35 per cent; no uplift applies in England, where such homes are expected to receive support under the Home Upgrade Grant3. In Wales, Rural Urban Indicator Codes D1, D2, E1, E2, F1 and F2 qualify as rural areas, and in Scotland classifications 6, 7 and 8 do3.
The summary of updates records that version 1.0 changed the definition of householder documents showing Help to Heat Group eligibility to "no more than 12 months prior to the beginning of a project", added information on the ECO4 Flex routes, restricted customer self-declarations for Child Benefit without further evidence of household income threshold, and added paragraphs on solar PV and smart thermostats1. It also added a paragraph on installing a heat pump as an upgrade measure, updated guidance on blended funding with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, and excluded shared ground loop ground source heat pumps1.
"This measure table provides information on the energy efficiency measures which suppliers can install to meet their obligations during ECO4 scheme."
Why it matters for households
ECO4 is funded through energy supplier obligations rather than direct government spending, so the guidance determines which homes can receive measures and on what evidence. The tenure and SAP band rules in the measures table set the boundary of eligibility: owner-occupied homes at band D and below, privately rented homes at band E and below, and social housing at band E and below, with social band D premises eligible only for innovation measures or insulation needed to meet the minimum insulation requirement2. Households in rural off-gas homes in Wales and Scotland sit inside a 35 per cent uplift, while equivalent homes in England do not3. The evidence rules matter too: proof of residence dated before or within 12 months prior to completion of the first measure in a project, and the 12-month limit on householder documents, determine whether a measure can be notified at all1. Homes in listed buildings and conservation areas face separate consent questions that this guidance does not resolve.
What happens next
The guidance states that once the ECO4 LA Flex Register becomes available in 2023, local authorities should notify their declaration to Ofgem on the LA Register3. Later versions of the guidance and measures table followed, including version 1.1 on 3 February 2023 and version 2.0 on 14 August 20234. The scheme's end date has since been extended by nine months to 31 December 20265.
Sources5 cited
- Generic, ofgem.gov.uk
- [](https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2022-10/ECO4%20Measures%20Table%20v1.0.xlsx), ofgem.gov.uk
- ECO4 delivery guidance, ofgem.gov.uk
- ECO4 Delivery Guidance & Measures Table Summary of Updates, ofgem.gov.uk
- ECO4 Delivery Guidance & Measures Table Summary of Updates, ofgem.gov.uk