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Plea for fuel poverty investment
08/02/2009
Energy companies and the UK Government must increase spend in Scotland on energy efficiency measures, Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell said today.
The UK Government - through the Department for Energy and Climate Change - will this week consult on how new heat and energy saving targets will be implemented.
Proposals include a 20 per cent increase of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) obligation on energy suppliers to significantly increase the number of households benefiting from energy saving measures.
The increased CERT target could mean an additional investment of £20 million a year in Scotland, taking total possible investment through CERT here to around £100 million a year.
And another proposed energy efficiency measure, the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), places an obligation on energy suppliers to achieve an overall carbon emission reduction target, worth £350 million GB-wide over the next three years.
Mr Maxwell said:
"This week has seen temperatures drop across Scotland at a time when the fuel poor are making stark choices between whether to eat, or heat their homes.
"Scottish communities must reap the benefits from CERT and CESP funding programmes. We need a cast iron guarantee that new energy investment includes Scotland's rural and island communities.
"They are paying into the costs of the programmes through their fuel bills, so it's essential they are not frozen out.
"The Scottish Government is doing what it can to invest in improved energy efficiency. Only last week we announced an additional £15 million - agreed in the Budget - for insulation programmes.
"In April, we are introducing the new holistic Energy Assistance Package targeted at those struggling with their fuel bills."
Mr Maxwell will chair the second meeting of the Scottish CERT Strategy Steering Group next Tuesday - it brings together key players from energy companies to help boost energy efficiency investment north of the Border.
CERT is an initiative that places an obligation on companies to provide households with subsidised energy efficiency measures, such as cavity wall and loft insulation, energy efficient appliances and low energy light bulbs.
The Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) is a new obligation on energy suppliers and energy generators to achieve an overall carbon emission reduction target, through investment in energy efficiency measures, expected to be worth £350m over three years.
In his Budget speech [February 4], the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth announced proposals for the first stage of an ambitious area based home insulation scheme supported by £15 million of new Government funding plus £15 million from other sources.
This first stage has the potential to offer advice and assistance to some 90,000 homes, with treatment for cavity wall or loft insulation for 53,000 homes and support nearly 900 jobs in the process. The scheme will focus on our ambition to eradicate poor insulation in Scotland.