The UK government has announced its long-awaited warm homes plan, a £15bn package aimed at upgrading 5 million homes to cut energy bills by up to £1,000 a year. The plan does not include a phaseout date for gas boilers, despite previous pledges to move away from fossil fuels. Instead, it focuses on incentives such as grants and loans for heat pumps, insulation, and solar panels.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the plan would lift 1 million people out of fuel poverty and extend clean energy benefits to all. The package includes £5bn for low-income household upgrades, £2.7bn for the boiler upgrade scheme offering £7,500 off heat pumps, £1.1bn for heat networks, and £2.7bn for innovative finance like green mortgages. An additional £1.5bn covers other programmes and devolved administrations.
Simon Francis of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition called the plan a potential 'spark' to end fuel poverty, while Nesta research suggests typical savings of £1,000 annually for homes with heat pumps, solar panels, and batteries. Landlords will be required to improve rental property energy efficiency, a move Miliband said the previous government avoided.
Official figures show fuel poverty could affect 2.78m English homes by 2025, and energy debt reached £4.43bn by June 2024. The plan aims to support the green home installation industry, which has lagged in the UK due to low consumer confidence and high upfront costs.
