Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | APRIL 2021 | 19 Policy & Regulation "You can't say the scheme is unpopular when you have 100,000 vouchers ready to go," says Dobson-Smith. Bragg agrees. "If you look at the number of applications, it's not really a problem of demand." Act in haste, repent at leisure Doug Parr, policy director at Greenpeace, takes a dim view of what he sees as an attempt to shi- blame. "They were in a hurry and made mistakes, which was per- haps understandable," he says. "What's not forgivable is to take those mistakes, pretend they don't exist and blame ordinary people for not being interested, which is blatantly untrue, and cut the money." The scheme is not a complete write-o„ , Markall insists, but could have been rolled out in a more considered way. "It was the right programme and the right idea: they just needed a little longer to make sure they cre- ated the right set of processes. "A sizeable chunk of people have taken advantage of it, but there could have been a hell of a lot more if there hadn't been a lack of tradespeople." Mike Foster, chief executive of the Energy and Utilities Alliance, agrees. "As welcome as the cash over the two years is, the scheme needs to be long term taking us to 2050. "This way, sustainable businesses can plan properly and deliver high-quality instal- lations. Short-term schemes encourage a 'get rich quick' mentality, which isn't the respon- sible thing to do." Markall says the introduction of the GHG provides clear lessons for how the govern- ment should approach the decarbonisation of heat, which he describes as an "arguably bigger" challenge. These include much closer engagement with customers and the busi- nesses which will deliver the programme. The government should have already learnt these lessons from the failure of the Green Deal, the energy e• ciency loan which was scrapped in 2015 due to paltry take-up, Dobson-Smith says: "Don't put out half- baked schemes. Give the opportunity to go over the details and make sure they work. "We support the government showing ambition but ultimately we need to make sure that any scheme is created in consulta- tion with industry and works for installers and contractors." Pointing to the success of the o„ shore wind rollout, the main lesson is the need for a long-term strategy, says Lord. Another is that the government must — nd ways of delivering, he says: "There is a lot of local capacity out there. The more we can access local capacity, the more e„ ective these things can be." Observers agree that the £500 million Local Authority Delivery Scheme element of the GHG programme, which is handled by councils and targeted at fuel poor house- holds, has worked well. Bragg says the administrative delays in the larger voucher scheme are improv- ing thanks to work between ICF, BEIS and industry. The Times reported in February that the scheme is set to be axed a- er it emerged that hundreds of millions of pounds of GHG cash likely to be unspent in the — rst year will not be rolled over into 2021/22. These concerns about the future of the scheme were com- pounded by the absence of any reference to energy e• ciency in the Budget on 3 March. The scheme should be — xed rather than abandoned, says Dobson-Smith: "We want the government to intervene and address the failings in the scheme and make sure they fund it. If they roll over the budget until the pot is spent, that's — ne. "Pulling it altogether would be disastrous for members who have engaged with the scheme and disastrous for what was a ž ag- ship clean energy policy." Lord agrees the government must "not fall at the — rst hurdle". Treasury minister Kemi Badenoch will have calmed a few fears on this score when she told the House of Commons environ- mental audit committee on the day a- er the Budget that the government is "looking at how to improve" the GHG. The imperative to deliver a version of the GHG remains strong, says Markall: "This needs to happen. Whether we do it now or in — ve years: we may as well do it now because it will be cheaper than if we do it in — ve years." The case for the GHG is stronger than ever with the economic downturn proving to be longer lasting than envisaged. In addition, dropping such an important programme would undermine the environ- mental credentials that prime minister Boris Johnson was so keen to parade to fellow world leaders at last week's G7 meeting. Parr says: "It is impossible to see how we deliver the reductions in emissions for the 5th and 6th carbon budget without doing something about the performance of housing. Noting that scrapping the Green Deal set energy e• ciency policy back ten years, Lord expresses the hope that the GHG won't be abandoned. "The fundamentals of the scheme are good. We can't a„ ord another wasted decade on energy e• ciency and low carbon heating." David Blackman, policy correspondent "If you look at the number of applications, it's not really a problem of demand." Caroline Bragg, head of policy, the Association for Decentralised Energy "The fundamentals of the scheme are good. We can't aff ord another wasted decade on energy effi ciency and low carbon heating. Tim Lord, senior fellow, net zero, The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change "The scheme needs to be long term… Short-term schemes encourage a 'get rich quick' mentality, which isn't the responsible thing to do." Mike Foster, chief executive, Energy and Utilities Alliance

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