New support for low-income households is in the pipeline with the news that councillors have approved plans for Argyll and Bute to join a leading energy efficiency programme.
The ECO4 Flex initiative, funded by major UK energy suppliers, aims to help households reduce energy bills and carbon emissions by enhancing a property’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating.
The ECO4 scheme is overseen by Ofgem and requires the major UK energy suppliers to provide energy efficiency measures to low income and energy inefficient privately owned and privately rented homes using Energy Company Obligation (ECO) funding available through independent installers.
The programme allows energy efficiency measures to be installed in homes which are not eligible for “Help to Heat” but qualify through other Ofgem funding routes.
Measures include insulation and renewable technologies such as solar panels and heat pumps, all of which can deliver significant carbon and financial savings for householders.
The first step in taking the scheme forward will be the appointment of an agent to deliver ECO4 Flex across Argyll and Bute.
Householders will be able to make an enquiry directly to one of the selected installers who will deal with all aspects of the survey, advise what energy efficiency measures they can offer, ensure the applicant’s eligibility and deal with any queries after completion.
Councillor Jim Lynch, the council’s Policy Lead for Economic Development, Islands, Rural Communities and Housing, said: “The ECO4 Flex scheme has real potential to deliver energy improvements to some of the most vulnerable households in our communities and is further evidence of our commitment to tackling both fuel poverty and the wider housing emergency across the region.”
