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UK: More than 30,000 jobs at risk if insulation levy cut from fuel bills
(The Guardian, 21 Jan 2022) Government considers scrapping scheme that pays for energy efficiency measures for poorer households.
More than 30,000 jobs would be put at risk if the government were to scrap the energy bill levy that pays for home insulation improvements for poor households, the industry has warned.
Ministers are mooting an end to the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), a £1bn levy on energy bills that pays for energy efficiency measures for people on low incomes. The energy price cap is expected to rise by about £700 to £2,000 for the average household bill in April, after a surge in gas prices.
The government is reluctant to take major steps such as windfall tax, which the Labour party and others have called for, and the longstanding ECO has been targeted by the Treasury as a way of reducing bills. However, the amounts saved from scrapping it would be small, at about £29 on the average bill.
The Insulation Assurance Authority has written to ministers urging them to keep ECO. The body said the levy added less than 52p a week to the average energy bill but had reduced household energy bills by about £300 a year on average for the 3m homes treated so far.
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The Guardian, 21 Jan 2022: UK: More than 30,000 jobs at risk if insulation levy cut from fuel bills
