On 23 September, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng outlined the key measures contained in the government’s ‘special fiscal event’, and released further details in a new document, The Growth Plan 2022.
For the decarbonisation sector, the most significant announcement is the move “to implement new obligations on energy suppliers… to help customers take action to reduce their energy bills.” Chiefly, the government intends to achieve this by encouraging and part-funding the installation of new energy efficiency measures and renewable energy systems. In so doing, it hopes to reduce household bills by an average of £200 per annum.
The Growth Plan notes that the support “will be worth £1 billion over the next three years, starting from April 2023. Support will be targeted at those most vulnerable, but will also be available for the least efficient homes in lower council tax bands.”
In short, this represents an extra £1 billion of financial incentives to implement energy efficiency measures; property improvements that are widely recognised to be essential if the UK is to meet its carbon-reduction targets in the coming years.
