In April 2008, the third phase of an energy supplier obligation (the Energy Efficiency Commitment) was implemented to make savings in the amount of CO2 emitted by domestic houses and small businesses. The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) is set for April 2008 to March 2011 and aims to make an annual net saving of 4.2 million tonnes of CO2 by the end of the programme, however a consultation has taken place to extend it to 2012. The six largest energy suppliers with customer bases over 50,000, are required to deliver measures that will provide overall lifetime savings of 185 million tonnes of CO2 – this is equivalent to the emissions from 1 million homes each year (DECC.gov.uk, 2010). As a result, suppliers will provide information and advice on energy efficiency, promote renewable energy, promote micro-generation and offer grants to increase energy efficiency. Consequently, now is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of any efficiency grants you are entitled to as it could potentially be free and will save you money on your energy bills.
Measures funded under CERT
Under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target, measures that can be delivered by energy suppliers are those that:
- improve energy efficiency
- generate electricity or heat from micro-generation
- promote community heating schemes powered by biomass (< 3mW)
- reduce the consumption of supplied energy, such as behavioural measures
Energy suppliers have complete flexibility as to which measures they choose to fund, therefore it varies supplier to supplier. In general, qualifying measures include:
Energy Efficiency Measures – funding may be available for insulation
measures such as cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, solid wall insulation, hot water tank insulation and draught proofing. Measures such as insulation tend to be the most supported as they are cost effective and more established. Other energy efficiency measures that may be supported include boiler upgrades, fuel switching, heating control installations and upgrades, and glazing upgrades (from E to C rated) [1].
Micro-generation Measures – some energy suppliers may provide funding for micro-generation measures such as wood burning stoves and chip boilers, photovoltaic panels, 
solar water heating panels, micro wind turbines, micro hydro turbines, heat pumps and combined heat and power (CHP). Many suppliers will provide funding for micro-generation as it contributes greatly to a reduction in CO2 emissions and can be supplemented with Feed-in Tariffs which provide an income from the government for every kilowatt of electricity generated.
Appliance and Advice Measures – suppliers will provide advice in the form of home energy advice packages to educate home-owners on carbon reduction. Energy efficient appliances will be actively promoted through energy suppliers to reduce the amount of energy that will need to be supplied. Funding may be available for Real Time Displays (RTDs) which detect how much energy a household is using and allows them to monitor reductions of up to 10-20% through the switching off of appliances [2]. Finally, most energy suppliers will provide compact fluorescent lights (energy saving lightbulbs) to households free of charge.
Community Heating Schemes – funding may be available for community heating schemes that are powered wholly or mainly by biomass, but do not exceed a size of three megawatts thermal.
A summary of the most popular measures supported by energy suppliers are shown below [3].
Eligibility
The CERT requires energy suppliers to focus a minimum of 40% of their activity on a “Priority Group” which consists of low income households and the elderly. This is outlined as households in receipt of the following benefits or tax credits, or meeting eligibility criteria [1]:
- Council tax benefit
- Housing benefit
- Income supporting
- Income based jobseekers allowance
- Employment and support allowance
- Attendance allowance
- Disability living allowance
- Disablement pension
- War disablement pension
- Child tax credit (where the consumer’s relevant income is £16, 040 or less)
- Working tax credit (where the consumer’s relevant income is £16.040 or less)
- State pension credit
- All householders over the age of 70
It has been estimated by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) that the above criteria to be eligible for the “Priority Group” are met by 43% of all households in Great Britain. It is important to note that you can accept grants,offers and funding from any energy supplier, regardless of who supplies your household. Therefore, it advisable to look around for who can supply you the best deal.
Energy Suppliers
The six leading energy suppliers that act under CERT are:
- Scottish Power
- E-on
- EDF Energy
- Npower
- British Gas
- Southern Electric
To find out what funding you are eligible for, it is advisable to contact each so you can choose the best deal.
The benefits of CERT
The UK has committed to a variety of emission reducing targets such as the Kyoto Protocol which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5% from 1990 levels by 2008-2012 and the Government policy which aims to cut CO2 emissions by 20% from 1990 levels by 2010. This government policy also aims to cut C02 emissions by 60% from 1990 levels by 2050 and the CERT has been designed specifically to make a significant contribution to achieving these targets. Not only will CERT help reduce carbon emissions, it can also save you money by providing energy efficiency measures free of charge or reduced and by reducing your energy bills.
The Future of CERT
Although originally set to end in 2011, a consultation has taken place to extend it to 2012 in order to meet the target of insulating 6 millions homes by December 2011. A higher target has been set of 293 million tonnes of lifetime CO2 savings has been set and compact fluorescent lights have been removed as an eligible measure. There is also a a proposed “Super Priority Group” obligation which will ensure that the most vulnerable households who are least able to afford energy saving measures can benefit [1].
In order to meet the targets set, energy suppliers will begin to offer more advice and better offers to encourage energy saving. Therefore, if you haven’t already benefited from this scheme, now is the time to research your options. 43% of UK households are eligible for full funding, so if you want to reduce your energy bills and help to reduce harmful CO2 emissions, now is the time to benefit from the Carbon Emissions Reduction Scheme.
[1] www.energysavingtrust.co.uk (2010)
[2] www.e-day.org.uk (2010)
[3] DECC (2010)
