1. 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!

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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 % %
D (from 151 to 230) % %
E (from 231 to 350) % %
F (from 351 to 450) % %
G (more than 450) % %                      
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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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.

12. 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?

13. 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

14.
Thank you