Energy: Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation

Lord Ezra Excerpts

Wednesday 30th January 2013 Lords Chamber

Asked By

[Lord Ezra]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the impact on energy saving in the home of the Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Baroness Verma)]

My Lords, following its successful launch on Monday, I expect the Green Deal to revolutionise energy saving in our homes. It will transform the energy efficiency market, giving consumers real choice and control over how they can improve their properties. The new energy company obligation will ensure that those who struggle most to heat their homes affordably will get the help that they need. The reaction of industry and other groups has been more than encouraging. I am pleased with the warm reception from the party opposite for the Green Deal.

[Lord Ezra]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that reply. I agree that the Green Deal and the energy company obligation are innovative schemes, and I hope that they are very successful. However, there is one aspect that I am a little concerned about—the rate of build-up at a time when fuel poverty is still increasing. There may be a lapse before these schemes get fully under way. Would my noble friend care to comment on that aspect? In that connection, would she also comment on a number of reports that have come out on the fact that there have been some lay-offs in the insulation sector?

[Baroness Verma]

I begin by thanking my noble friend for his very warm welcome. The Green Deal targets energy efficiency schemes and is one of the most effective ways in which to tackle fuel poverty. That is why the minimum of 40% of eco will help to support low-income households. The eco-affordable warmth and carbon saving community obligations will support around 230,000 low-income households each year. The insulation sector as a whole has a real opportunity to grow from the success of the Green Deal, and we estimate that overall jobs in the sector will increase from the 26,000 recorded in 2011 to about 60,000 in 2015.