British gas cash set to help insulate West Sussex homes (From The Argus)

British gas cash set to help insulate West Sussex homes

2:00pm Tuesday 5th March 2013 in News

Thousands of homes could benefit from energy-saving improvements potentially worth £20 million.

West Sussex County Council has secured agreement for significant investment by British Gas in about 3,000 homes over the next two years.

The deal centres around the new Energy Company Obligation (ECO), a government agreement which forces firms to spend up to £1.3 billion annually on installing eco measures in people’s homes.

If the energy companies do not spend their allocated share of ECO they face hefty fines.

Lionel Barnard, deputy council leader, said: “We have acted quickly to take advantage of the opportunity that ECO presents us to increase investment into West Sussex and target energy-saving measures at households able to benefit under the government’s new scheme.

“The precise level of investment will depend on resident take-up of the measures and will be ultimately measured in terms of tonnes of carbon saved. However, the value of this work could be more than £20 million.”

ECO came into effect in January this year.

Energy companies nationally have been keen to secure partnerships with local authorities as a way of directing money to targeted householder groups.

This includes people on lower incomes and those who have ‘hard to treat’ properties such as older houses with solid walls.

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