Huhne tells energy giants to 'double insulation rates'

Published by Ross Macmillan for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Environment

The 'Big Six' energy suppliers have been told to "double" their insulation rates or risk missing the Government's tough home energy efficiency targets.

That warning has come from climate change secretary Chris Huhne who has told them to increase their monthly insulation rates to 200,000.

Under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), the energy suppliers must offer consumers free or discounted insulation measures, with 3.5 million homes set to benefit by December 2012 after tougher goals were demanded by the coalition Government last year.

Figures released from Huhne's department today revealed that nearly 300,000 insulation measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation have been installed in British homes over the past three months.

This brings the total number of British homes that have adequate loft insulation to 58% and cavity wall insulation present in 58% of homes with cavities.

But Mr Huhne has fired a warning to the 'Big Six' energy companies to double their insulation rates.

Mr Huhne said: “More and more people realise that insulation can save you money and make your home cosier.

“More than £100 can be knocked off your bill if you get your loft lagged and cavity walls filled and thanks to tough government targets for the Big six energy companies, consumers can get free or discounted insulation.

“People should call the Energy Saving Trust for advice on how they can save money on their bills and protect themselves from rising energy prices.

“But these stats also show that energy companies need to pull their finger out and get on with offering even more energy saving help to British households. The companies have made good progress to date and we want them to succeed, but they are going to have to accelerate their lagging rates if they’re each going to hit their targets by the end of the next year.”

If the suppliers are to heed Mr Huhne's warning, they will have to double their monthly professionally installed insulation rate from the average 100,000 a month seen since last year to some 200,000 if they are to meet the insulation target.

Today’s statistics show that as part of the CERT scheme, there has been:

·         A 21% increase in the number of professionally installed insulation compared with the same quarter last year.

·         13% more DIY loft insulation installed compared with the same quarter last year.

People wanting advice on insulating their homes should call the Energy Saving Trust on 0800 512 0132 to find out about the latest local offers on insulation that are available.