UTILITY WEEK | MAY 2023 |
15
Policy & Regulation
continued overleaf
£1.8 billion allocation of funding for energy
efficiency and decarbonised heat, the gov-
ernment is yet to divvy out just over £2 bil-
lion of the £6.6 billion pledged for tackling
these issues in the 2019 Conservative party
manifesto, she adds.
Overall the plan is a "real missed oppor-
tunity" to provide clarity and confidence
around energy efficiency, Phillips says.
The hope, she adds, is that DESNZ's
recently established energy efficiency task-
force can make a really strong case to the
government about the need for urgent
action.
Heat
While progress in the announcement on
energy efficiency may have been disap-
pointing, there appears to have been greater
movement on the thorny issue of decarbon-
ising home heating.
The government said it has rejected the
recommendation of ex-energy minister Chris
Skidmore's review that its proposed ambi-
tion to phase out natural gas boilers by 2035
should be brought forward by two years,
while saying that the proposal will be given
"further" consideration.
However, the £450 million per annum
Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), which pro-
vides grants of up to £5,000 for households
switching to heat pumps, will be extended
until 2028.
And the Clean Heat Market Mecha-
nism (CHMM), which is designed to
ensure that a certain number of heat
pumps are installed for every fossil fuel
boiler sold, has been confirmed with a
go-ahead date of next year.
In addition, Powering Up Britain
contained £30 million of seed money
to stimulate the manufacture
and supply of heat pumps as
well as £220 million of capital invest-
ment to support the rollout of heat
networks.
But probably the most signifi-
cant move in the document is the
commitment to set out plans
during the next year to rebal-
ance gas and electricity costs
in household bills by cutting
the latter at the former's
expense.
Behind the Whitehall
speak the plan is couched
in, which he recognises
as a former senior
civil servant, Bell sees
acknowledgment in
the government's
announcement that
gas will play a "dimin-
ishing role".
"This is the first
time the government
has really made it
plain that, as an
ambition, it wants
to displace certain
