Rules and Regulation News: page 24
- August 2024
Four new solar prior approval application types launched on Planning Portal
Planning Portal has added four solar prior approval application types to its online service, covering domestic and non-domestic solar equipment and solar canopies, with eligibility rules built into each form.
Ofgem announces new price cap as NEA projects 400,000 more households in fuel poverty
Ofgem has set a new price cap taking a typical annual energy bill to £1,717 from 1 October, as National Energy Action projects 6 million UK households in fuel poverty.
Ofgem to confirm actual October price cap level
Ofgem was due to publish the actual October to December 2024 price cap on 23 August, with analysts and campaigners expecting a rise of around 10 per cent for a typical household.
Ofgem publishes standing charges options paper
Ofgem has published an options paper on reducing domestic standing charges by £20 to £100 a year and asked suppliers to offer no or low standing charge tariffs, with feedback open until 20 September 2024.
Ofgem sets price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2024
Ofgem has set the energy price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2024 at £1717 a year for a typical Direct Debit household, a 10% rise, and opened a consultation on standing charges.
Elmhurst Energy sets out proposed changes to ventilation rules in Future Homes Standard consultation
Elmhurst Energy has set out proposed changes to ventilation testing and commissioning under the Future Homes Standard consultation, including a ban on rotating vane anemometers and new rules for existing homes.
Consumer Consent Solution consultation published
Ofgem has published its decision confirming the Retail Energy Code Company as Delivery Body for a Consumer Consent Solution, following a consultation that closed in October 2024.
Nesta launches project on rebalancing energy levies
Nesta has begun an ongoing project examining how shifting policy levies between electricity and gas bills would affect UK households, with findings due to inform debate on cheaper electricity.
Ofgem consults on appointing RECCo as delivery body
Ofgem has set out a final impact assessment for a digital consumer consent platform to be delivered by RECCo, with monetised benefits outweighing costs in its central scenario.
Ofgem published an options paper on ways to reduce standing charges
Ofgem set out options for cutting the daily standing charge in an August 2024 paper, part of a review that later produced a lower standing charge tariff requirement and a pilot.
Ofgem sets Quarter 4 2024 price cap at £1,717
Ofgem announced in August 2024 that the energy price cap for Quarter 4 2024 would be £1,717, an increase of £149 on the Quarter 3 2024 cap of £1,568.
Scottish Government opens consultation on Passivhaus-inspired building standards without solar requirement
The Scottish Government has opened a consultation on building standards modelled on Passivhaus Classic, which the solar trade body says omits solar power entirely and lags behind EU and English plans.
Supplier allowed profit margins to rise 11% under new cap
Ofgem has raised the energy price cap by 10% from 1 October, taking a typical household bill in England, Scotland and Wales to £1,717, while the profit margins suppliers are allowed to make rise 11%.
Suppliers required to provide a way to report electricity supply failures
From 1 August all electricity suppliers must give customers a way to report a loss of supply, with support available around the clock, as the radio teleswitch switch-off approaches.
- July 2024
Intertek Shanghai announced as an MCS product certification body
Intertek Shanghai becomes the tenth MCS product certification body and the second outside Europe, certifying solar panels and heat pumps for the UK market.
Charities write to Chancellor urging reconsideration of Winter Fuel Payment removal
More than 50 organisations have written to Chancellor Rachel Reeves asking the Government to reconsider restricting the Winter Fuel Payment to pensioners on certain means-tested benefits.
Rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan announced
Defra has confirmed that the rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan announced on 30 July 2024 is complete, with a revised plan due in 2025 and no specific air quality commitments set out so far.
Chancellor announces Winter Fuel Payment eligibility restricted to benefit recipients
The Chancellor restricted Winter Fuel Payment eligibility from winter 2024-25 to people receiving Pension Credit and certain other benefits, cutting the Block-Grant Adjustment by an estimated £150 million.
Government announces winter fuel payments will be means-tested
Means testing of the Winter Fuel Payment, announced on 29 July 2024, drove a 145% rise in pension credit applications, with nearly half of processed claims rejected.
Energy UK publishes policy proposals for affordable bills this winter
Energy UK has proposed funding energy efficiency schemes from general taxation, shifting policy costs onto gas bills and doubling the Warm Home Discount to cut household bills this winter.
Resolution Foundation publishes net zero investment priorities for new Government
The Resolution Foundation says UK net zero investment must rise four-fold on post-2010 levels, and warns that high upfront costs for heat pumps could put low carbon heating out of reach for poorer households.
CCC calls for reversal of recent policy rollbacks
The Climate Change Committee's 2024 progress report to Parliament urges the new Government to reverse recent rollbacks on boilers, rented homes and fossil-fuel vehicle sales.
CCC finds only a third of 2030 emissions reductions covered by credible plans
The Climate Change Committee's 2024 progress report to Parliament finds only a third of the emissions cuts needed for the UK's 2030 target are backed by credible plans, up from a quarter a year earlier.
CCC says UK off track for Net Zero with only a third of 2030 emissions cuts covered by credible plans
The Climate Change Committee says only a third of the emissions cuts needed for the UK's 2030 target are backed by credible plans, and has sent the new Government ten priority recommendations.
ESPR framework came into effect
The EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation took effect on 18 July 2024, replacing the Ecodesign Directive, and the UK has since confirmed it will keep recognising CE marking for products regulated under it.
Which? investigation finds EPCs inaccurate and calls for reform
Which? has published an investigation finding that most sampled Energy Performance Certificates were inaccurate or carried unhelpful recommendations, and is calling on the government to reform the system.
E3G publishes framework for cheap, clean electricity for Great Britain by 2030
E3G has published a framework for moving Great Britain to a low-cost, clean electricity system by 2030, arguing that continued gas dependence leaves households and public finances exposed.
Welsh Government publishes Heat strategy for Wales with action plan
The Welsh Government has published its Heat strategy for Wales and an accompanying action plan, setting out how net zero heat will be achieved across all sectors by 2050.
E3G publishes briefing on a warmer, fairer private rented sector
E3G has published a briefing setting out how a higher energy efficiency standard of EPC C could be delivered in the private rented sector in England and Wales.
Nesta publishes Delivering clean heat: a policy plan
Nesta has published a policy plan for decarbonising UK home heating, alongside analysis that more than three million homes must install heat pumps or other low-carbon heating this Parliament.