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14 | 20th - 26th June 2014 | utILItY WeeK Special report Labour is equally scathing about the changes to the energy efficiency scheme, claiming that 440,000 fewer people will ben- efit from Eco as a result of the changes made by the government. As a direct consequence of the changes, some of the schemes run by the suppliers – most notably a British Gas project in Notting- ham – were cancelled because they were no longer financially viable. Those who were expecting to benefit from the government-led initiative – paid for by consumer bills – were le without help. And with the latest statistics reveal- ing that 2.33 million households will be in fuel poverty this year, there is a grave need for the energy efficiency projects to deliver warmer homes and lower bills. Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, adds: "It is easy to forget when the sun is shining, but the reality for many, par- ticularly in the colder months, is that hor- rifically cold homes, low incomes and high energy prices are trapping people into fuel poverty." So the fuel poor are set to remain trapped in the nightmare of cold homes that are expensive to heat. Energy companies The big energy companies, so oen painted as the villain in the energy sector, have also suffered because of the way Eco has been abruptly chopped and changed. British Gas cancelled a project in Not- tingham in January this year, leaving 1,900 properties out of 4,700 without solid wall insulation. A British Gas spokesperson said: "These changes [to Eco] mean we can no longer fund some projects." Cue public outcry and vitriol directed at the company for leaving consumers in the lurch. One resident who was part of the scheme and was told it was being cancelled before he had any insulation installed said: "British Gas should have been made to hon- our their commitment. They make enough profit." However, Citizens Advice says suppliers "are not to blame" for the cancellation of some Eco projects – in particular the more expensive solid wall insulation projects – because they are trying to deliver the energy efficiency measures as cost effectively as possible. EDF Energy has told Utility Week that although the proposed changes had "not had a significant impact on the type of activity we undertake", the impact has come on the vol- ume of measures it is installing "in order to limit the cost". The work that has been done, with more than 770,000 measures installed under Eco, is lost in a sea of yet more negative publicity. Government and energy policy In terms of negative publicity, the govern- ment has had its fair share. It was its decision to "roll back green lev- ies" which led to the ailing energy efficiency agenda being all but killed off. Eco and its stablemate were launched to tackle fuel poverty and improve the terrible state of the UK's housing stock. The Green Deal was set to boost Eco, giving it a help- ing hand and providing an opportunity for measures to be installed along the way. But the Green Deal has not even hit the 2,500 plan mark. So while Eco was struggling to meet its target and come in on budget – the govern- ment came up with a plan to shake up the Green Deal. This was the £360 million Green Deal Home Improvement Fund, which is available for three years. Coupled with the changes to Eco, the two schemes, according to Broad, are now on a divergent path, no longer closely inter- twined, leaving Eco set to fall even further short of its original goals. Without support from the Green Deal, measures have proven to be more expensive to install, exacerbating the energy efficiency conundrum. In their eagerness to be seen to be on top of energy prices, the government looked to the costs it could cut – namely funding for Eco. number of monThly surveys carried ouT by The eum group under cerT, cesp and eco Cert/Cesp end Changes to Eco proposed in chancellor's Autumn Statement Eco consultation published Jun 12 Jul 12 Aug 12 Sep 12 Nov 12 Dec 12 Jan 13 Feb 13 Mar 13 Apr 13 May 13 Jun 13 Jul 13 Aug 13 Sep 13 Oct 13 Nov 13 Dec 13 Jan 14 Feb 14 Mar 14 Apr 14 May 14