The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is an energy efficiency programme, which was introduced in the UK in January 2013. It replaces two previous schemes, the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), which ran from 2008 to 2012, and the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), which ran from 2009 to 2012. ECO2t has recently ended in September 2018. The latest change to this scheme is ECO3 and has taken effect from 1 October 2018 and will run through March 2022.

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The latest scheme solely focuses on the low income and vulnerable households through Affordable Warmth.

 

 

What does ECO3 focus on? 

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ECO3 focuses solely on low income, fuel poor and vulnerable to cold households - these are the houses that cannot afford the cost of energy efficient measures. So much focused on Affordable Warmth that 100% of ECO's funding has been allocated to AWS, resulting in CERO (Carbon Emissions Reductions Obligation) being entirely dropped from ECO3 - making 6.6 million homes eligible for receiving energy saving measures. It also encourages the use of  new innovative heating system. This includes actions that result in heating saving such as upgrade of an inefficient heating system or the replacement of a broken heating system.

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Measures installed under ECO3:

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• Solid Wall Insulation

• Cavity Wall Insulation

• Loft Insulation

• Room in Roof Insulation

• Underfloor Insulation

• Boiler Replacement

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Qualifying Benefits include:

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• Armed Forces Independence Payment

• Attendance Allowance

• Carer's Allowance

• Constant Attendance Allowance

• Child Benefit

• Disability Allowance

• Pension Guarantee Credit

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

• Income-based Job Seeker's Allowance (JSA)

• Income Support

• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

• Personal Independence Payment

• Severe Disablement Allowance

• Tax Credits (Child Tax Credits and Working Tax Credit)

• Universal Credit

• War Pension Mobility Supplement

If you are not in receipt of any of the above listed benefits, do not worry as the Greater London Authority has released a criteria for fuel poor and vulnerable to cold households to qualify to have access to insulation measures at no cost.