Government’s energy-efficiency scheme
Under the government’s £3bn energy-efficiency scheme, forty-two million energy-saving lightbulbs were sent out by utilities companies. Since the scheme began, 224m bulbs have been distributed, amounting to about 10 for each household.
However, according to a survey by the Energy Saving Trust, most people had six unused bulbs lying in drawers.
The government estimated that for this scheme to be most effective, 110m bulbs should be distributed and that 2.9m expensive domestic cavity-wall insulations should be carried out.
The latest reports from Ofgem shows that just under 1m cavity walls have been insulated for households, which is half the annual rate needed.
Companies are finding loopholes where they can so they can meet their obligations in the cheapest way possible, but it takes the more expensive measures, such as cavity-wall insulation to really save energy. The cost of the carbon emissions reduction target scheme are passed onto households through higher utility bills.
After 1 January, Ofgem only distributed bulbs to consumers who requested them and that prompted a deluge of bulbs before Christmas as companies rushed to take advantage before the loophole was closed.
Andrew Warren, chief executive of the Association for the Conservation of Energy, said: “The difficulty is that companies have exploited the loopholes. It’s critical because this scheme is the centrepiece of the government’s drive to improve energy efficiency in the home. It should be about achieving what it’s supposed to do rather than just ticking boxes.”
The Guardian has also learned that before Christmas, a marketing company acting on behalf of an energy supplier broke the scheme’s rules by sending out water-saving “low-flow” shower attachments to households that had not requested them. Ofgem alerted Eaga, the company administering the scheme, and the marketing company was dropped.
Energy experts have criticised the lax regulation of the scheme, particularly in its first year.