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Energy efficiency
14/09/2008
Scotland is in line to secure £321 million in energy investment over the next three years to help households reduce fuel bills.
The energy companies have pledged to move quickly to increase spend in Scotland from the £3.36 billion fund created to achieve the GB-wide Carbon Emissions Reductions Target (CERT).
CERT is an initiative that places an obligation on companies to provide households with subsidised energy efficiency measures, such as cavity wall and loft insulation, energy efficient appliances and low energy light bulbs.
Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell chaired the first meeting of the Scottish CERT Strategy Steering Group last week, bringing together key players from energy companies to help boost energy efficiency investment north of the Border.
The energy companies have now agreed to provide annual information on CERT activity in Scotland, which is currently only reported on every three years, and ensure that Scotland gets at least our pro-rata share of CERT spending.
Data collected under the first phase of the programme, which ran from 2002-2005 (then known as the Energy Efficiency Commitment) shows that the shortfall in spending in Scotland under the scheme was around 22 per cent below our pro-rata share. In the current programme this would equate to a loss of around £18 million of CERT spending in Scotland over the next three years.
In total, securing a fair share for Scotland should achieve annual investment of £107 million each year in cutting household fuel bills - or £321 million over the three years.
Other Scottish Government measures to help people with their fuel bills include:
- The launch of a Home Help Service this autumn, to provide households with intensive advice on energy efficiency and microgeneration installations. It will include home visits, surveys, help with planning applications and follow up support when microgeneration technology has been installed.
- £3.5 million funding for an Energy Saving Scotland Advice Centre Network of 5 regional centres, providing a one-stop shop offering advice and support to householders and small businesses on all aspects of sustainable energy, including energy efficiency, renewables and low carbon transport.
- A new 'benefit health check' service as part of the Warm Deal to ensure that households are claiming all of the benefits they are entitled to. The Scottish Government is also funding two benefit health check pilots in Glasgow and Aberdeenshire, led by Age Concern, in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions, and offers benefit health checks for people applying to the Central Heating Programme.
Stewart Maxwell said:
"As well as energy efficiency measures, the UK Government should have provided direct support for fuel poor households to help pay their energy bills this winter - and they had every opportunity to do so by recouping windfall gains made by the energy companies.
"The Scottish Government is already spending some £46 million a year on measures to combat fuel poverty - with our Central Heating and Warm Deal programmes - which proportionately is much greater than the position south of the Border.
"It is clear that no new government money was involved in the Prime Minister's announcement last Thursday, and that there are no Barnett consequentials for Scotland. It is vital therefore that Scotland gets our full and fair share of the CERT programme resources from the energy companies.
"I was encouraged by the energy companies' commitment to work with us to help reduce fuel bills, and specifically to provide a package of insulation measures to help Scotland's fuel-poor households.
"In a significant breakthrough, the energy companies also agreed to provide information on CERT activity in Scotland, which is currently only reported on a GB-wide basis, and ensure that Scotland secures at least a pro-rata share of the measures.
"We have agreed in principle to a series of steps to help Scottish households, and will be working with the energy companies on the full detail.
"The Scottish Government will also be looking to secure Scotland's share of the other energy efficiency initiatives announced by the UK Government last Thursday.
"We will publish a full CERT Strategy soon, including any action that we will take in response to the recommendations from the Fuel Poverty Forum, which is due to be completed around the end of September.
"Meantime, we are also rolling out a Home Help Service, a series of Energy Saving Advice centres across Scotland to drive up energy efficiency, and extra support to ensure households are claiming their full benefit entitlement to help with rising bills."