British Gas has agreed to pay £11.1 million to benefit vulnerable customers after failing to deliver energy efficiency measures by the 31 Dec 2012 deadline.
- The £11.1 million donation to charity will help vulnerable customers keep their homes warm through energy efficiency advice and improvements.
- Energy-saving measures were not delivered in full by the December 2012 deadline; prolonged bad weather was one of the factors in the delay.
- After the deadline, British Gas insulated more homes than any other supplier, going above and beyond the target and spending £1.1bn.
British Gas has agreed to pay £11.1 million to benefit vulnerable customers after failing to deliver energy efficiency measures under Carbon Emissions Reductions Target (CERT) and Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) by the 31 December 2012 deadline.
Through these schemes, British Gas invested £1.1bn in over 20 million energy efficiency measures to improve homes and reduce energy bills. After the deadline, British Gas delivered more measures than required, benefiting vulnerable customers with an additional £110m savings on energy bills.
As the largest energy supplier in the UK, British Gas delivers more energy efficiency improvements to Britain's homes than any other company. In the last 5 years it has insulated more than 2.5 million homes.
The £11.1 million will be donated to charity, to help vulnerable people with energy costs and energy efficiency improvements.
Claire Miles, Managing Director of British Gas New Energy, said,
“We’re hugely committed to the success of our energy efficiency programmes and are sorry that we missed the December 2012 deadline. However, we’re pleased that in the end we managed to help more vulnerable people under this scheme than was required. The donation we’re making will further help those struggling to keep their homes warm.
“We take our responsibilities to our customers very seriously and do all we can to help them keep their bills as low as possible. Providing free insulation is a big part of that, as well as giving our customers ways to manage and understand their energy use through smart meters and other new technologies.”
CERT
British Gas delivered the total targeted carbon savings required under the CERT scheme in February 2013 – seven weeks after the 31 December 2012 deadline.
CESP
Under the CESP scheme, British Gas focused on homes in 318 low-income communities with benefits such as solid wall insulation. Among other factors, poor weather conditions contributed to British Gas’s failure to meet the statutory deadline. Solid wall insulation cannot be installed in temperatures below 5 degrees so work was delayed due to prolonged cold temperatures while long periods of wet and windy weather meant work could not be carried out safely. British Gas completed the work by August 2013.
ECO
British Gas is committed to energy efficiency and is on schedule to meet its Energy Company Obligation targets ahead of the deadline. British Gas expects to help 1.2 million homes under the ECO programme. The 144,000 measures we installed in 2013 will cut heating costs by more than £950m for vulnerable customers.
Notes to editors
British Gas and Ofgem are currently considering how best to ensure the money benefits vulnerable consumers. One option is via theBritish Gas Energy Trust (BGET). This would be subject to formal agreement with BGET’s Board of Trustees.
The Trust provides grants and assistance to clear energy debts, for energy efficiency measures and to repair or replace essential household items such as energy efficient boilers, fridges and washing machines.
Although the Trust is fully funded by British Gas, people don’t need to be British Gas customers to be eligible for support.
British Gas invested £18m in 2013 in the British Gas Energy Trust, providing 11,771 grants and funding 15 Energy Debt Advice Centres, with services delivered alongside key partners like Citizens Advice and Shelter.
The £11.1m payment will be focused on vulnerable customers, providing help with energy costs and energy efficiency improvements.
Enquiries: British Gas Press Office 0800 107 7015