Delivering for the fuel poor 29 March 2018 Dublin Brenda Boardman, Emeritus Fellow Energy poverty and fuel poverty are the same, for me. UK is in Europe, still!

Some givens Reducing energy poverty is about capital investment Short-term help = more income and fuel switching Energy poor are hard to find requires both detailed income assessment and energy audit of the home many lead chaotic lives or hide and all have no savings Short-term palliatives required annually Hard to find = costly in money and time Needed = precise data

Ideal approach Area-based to incorporate the hidden and chaotic, no stigma, systematic First focus on where energy poverty concentrated Progress systematically to less severe areas over time Each HH different – please note medics for housing, health, utility problems, additional income, grants, as in Scotland. 4 different levels of help: advice to full retrofit LA needs funds

Monitoring vs delivery Two very different tasks Monitoring = academic, needed to identify progress, uses sophisticated national data, probably useless on the doorstep For energy efficiency improvements, start with delivery – have to visit the home Define minimum ‘need to know’ on the doorstep Less than €20,000 household income? Can only monitor change if there is action Main task is energy efficiency, = at the house. Need modelling to identify scale of the problem, but if cannot identify, so money is not spent / spent on the wrong people, that does not help. Self-referral – only for the assertive Stress, monitoring an academic exercise. Don’t spend too much time on it. Have a simple way to identify, not costly. 20 seconds before the door is shut

Start with the energy poor Gain the householder’s trust – takes patience, time and money Requires especially-skilled, empathetic people to deliver Each property and each household is individual – need flexible, sensitive solutions High calibre, reliable, trustworthy, local installers – good quality work that meets householder’s priorities Be aware that people may say ‘No’ initially

Energy efficiency distribution of households Minimum housing standards Energy efficiency distribution of households Scale of upgrade needed, based on England. Bands from the Energy Performance Certificate, G is worst, A best From F or G to Band C/ B / A SAP along X axis is from 0 (worst) to 100 (best) = Standard Assessment Procedure, Grey = approx distribution of the English housing stock SAP 81 = level required to take 83% of fuel poor out of fuel poverty at 2009 fuel prices (Consumer Focus report) Minimum standards essential to get worst housing improved Energy class (kWh/m²/yr) Before thermal renovation After thermal renovation A (less than 50) 0 % % B (from 51 to 90) 0 % % C (from 91 to 150) 1 % 14.5 % D (from 151 to 230) 10.5 % 29.0 % E (from 231 to 350) 23.0 % 29.0 % F (from 351 to 450) 26.5 % 16.5 % G (more than 450) 39.0 % 9.0 %                       Energy class of buildings renovated by Habiter mieux (June 2013) Percentage of homes 0 2 Source: ANAH (2013) Programme Habiter Mieux – Etat d’avancement mensuel, juin 2013

What energy efficiency standard? Use holistic standards, not individual measures Standards require trusted installers, to cope with the conditions of each property and householder’s wishes Average of band A by 2050 for climate change policy Visits are disruptive and become less cost effective epc

Energy-efficiency trajectory Major refurbishment to a high standard in one go? Or several small interventions, over the years? Maximum of two visits per home to get to A band? Incremental improvements become less cost-effective Snowball effect – more and more homes to be treated in fewer and fewer years

Electricity Include all energy uses in the home to an adequate standard, not just heating All fuels paid for from the same purse What action on electricity for lights and appliances? Product minimum energy efficiency standards – not much benefit for the energy poor Need scrappage schemes for the energy poor

Who delivers? The most-trusted agency = local authority? So, give each local authority the duty to reduce energy poverty and the funds Tackle worst areas of energy poverty first Takes responsibility for delivery Manages installers Works with community groups Provides single point of contact for housing and health: one stop shop

Who pays? Dual aims: Release the equity in the building Make energy-efficient buildings more valuable Building owner’s responsibility – landlords pay Loans for poor owner occupiers, at zero interest Only a few energy poor get a grant or subsidy Government’s cost is minimal with tough regulations Financial incentives at purchase – tax rebates Fuel poor have no capital, no savings, so cannot contribute to the cost directly Current financial situation = no large sums of govt money Everyone lives in a capital asset = the property So use this property as the basis for the loan, whether mortgage or a charge on the property, when it is sold Package of several measures (more than listed here) eg stamp duty rebates, PAYS Pay as you save is not appropriate for the fuel poor, as take too much of the benefit of an energy-efficiency improvements as extra warmth, not as saved money Owner can choose which one is most suitable for him/her Negotiations take place behind the front door, so no stigma attached (as would be if only fuel poor were targeted) £0.7tn worth of mortgages on about £3tn worth of property, so considerable additional equity available Kirklees and Harrogate already doing schemes funded by an extra charge on the property. The LA pays the interest meanwhile, but this is too expensive for wide replication The cost of the interest and of the advice and administration of the scheme have to be covered somehow. If Low income household is eligible for a FIT (feed-in tariff) then this would help pay some of these variable costs.

Value of other benefits More comfortable, happier people Less physical and mental ill health among fuel poor Cost of refurbishing a cold home recovered through reduced health costs in 7 years Children have better school attendance Less debts with utilities and housing providers 1:8:100 Ref?

Résumé Cold homes expensive for health providers and society Need comprehensive policy on energy-efficiency of housing, all tenures, all energy, over time Grants for energy poor, only Focus on delivery not monitoring Good for energy poverty and climate change

Brenda.Boardman@ouce.ox.ac.uk Thank you