A lot has been made in the press recently about the 7 “green levies” added to our fuel bills, which combined are reported to add 9% (about £112) to the average bill. One of them is the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), which makes up around £47 of this.

What is not highlighted very well is that ECO requires the largest seven fuel suppliers to use this money to improve people’s home insulation and heating, spending at least £1.3 billion a year in the process.

There have been calls from some quarters for the levies, including ECO, to be scrapped.

While there is a legitimate discussion to be had around whether the levies should be moved from bills to general taxation, there should be no backtracking on the commitment to the ECO programme.

Under ECO, private sector residents in receipt of particular benefits are eligible for up to 100% funding from fuel suppliers to replace their boiler and improve their home’s insulation (note eligible, but not guaranteed).  Additionally, residents not on benefits can receive part funding, which can be £1,000s, for insulation and other energy efficiency measures.

However, the eligibility rules for free boilers are quite restrictive, and widespread interest in solid wall insulation is yet to take off. Fuel suppliers are reporting that difficulty in finding eligible and willing clients is adding significantly to the cost of delivering the ECO programme, and the latest report of progress by fuel suppliers shows them to be less than 30% toward their targets while nearly half way through the programme.

In addition to the environmental benefits the importance of these measures to health and wellbeing, particularly of vulnerable people, is well evidenced through many case studies.

The concern is that those residents who need it most are the least likely to step forward. Referred to as the ‘hard to reach’, they may not engage with typical approaches to  eco promotion, or may feel the benefits of the measures do not sufficiently outweigh perceived negatives such as disruption, security, or simply change.

Here’s the thing:

• Fuel suppliers are having to spend more than they (and we) would want on finding the clients for ECO, the cost of which is passed onto fuel bills
• The clients would benefit greatly from the measures since it reduces the impact of inevitable future fuel price rises and gives them a chance of a warm home, but they don’t come forward and demand their measures
• The fuel suppliers and some politicians, claim it is green levies that are the problem on bills, and others accuse suppliers of greed.

And at the end of all this?

People who need affordable warmth are still cold in their homes, millions of homes still require insulation, fuel suppliers still have a target to hit, and bill payers cover the cost, including wasted spend on trying to find clients.

There is no doubt the funding is there, the question is what can we do to overcome the range of barriers, real and perceived, currently limiting take up. We need to turn the residents’ question from “Why should I”? to “Why wouldn’t I”? and to make ECO  a positive action rather than a complaint about higher bills.

Is not the time right to place ECO and its infrastructure at the heart of community based programmes rather than a dash for measures only – including a dash to cash in on income streams ranging from overpriced referral fees for low quality data through to the highest bidder approach to measures? Don’t forget, the cost is ultimately passed down to bill payers.

I believe it is, and that it will help support those hard to reach people who need a broader range of support that can be built around ECO measures.

We will shortly start a local community engagement programme that will offer support to all residents ranging from advice on energy efficiency, fuel tariffs, fuel debt, training at level 1 and 2, and light touch home assessments through to whole house assessments. It will link residents to immediate and future options for taking action, particularly linked to ECO measures (and potentially green deal).

We believe it will offer not just a quick fix but an opportunity to increase the longer term resilience of individuals and communities to inevitable increases in costs, including fuel, at a time when household budgets become increasingly challenged.

What will be one of the key messages? “Take your rightful share. If the cost of the measures is being met by you, why not take advantage of it”? Strange as it may sound by stepping forward you may help reduce the overall cost of the ECO programme while diverting wasted spend on marketing to something more beneficial to the local community.

With the onset of colder weather we thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about three core issues relating to fuel bills.  Peter Owen, Chief Executive of Energy Projects Plus is offering three short pieces – Insulate your fuel bills, Insulate your home, and Illuminate your family and friends – hoping to create both discussion and action to tackle these issues.

Watching the news and listening to interviews on radio and television you could get the impression that despite the fury about recent fuel price rises a lot of people feel trapped in their fate of paying more or indeed that they think it is not worthwhile switching.

When listening to their comments I wonder if they have checked to see what they could gain from switching or whether their view is based on assumptions and things they’d heard but which were not necessarily relevant to their own situation.

1 in 6 households have switched tariff in the last year¹ and are enjoying the benefits of being on competitive tariffs. Additionally, there are people who checked to see if switching was worthwhile for them and decided that they are happy with their current supplier and tariff.

These people have taken steps to reach their best possible position regarding fuel prices and everyone is being actively encouraged to join with them and not be resigned to paying more than necessary.

Unfortunately, over 40% of people have never switched supplier or tariff². There are many well-documented reasons for this including:

• Lack of confidence in their ability to compare tariffs offered
• Concern that they will be lost in the system and end up worse off
• Assumption that it is not going to be worth it financially or will be too much hassle
• They are not able to access the advice and support appropriate to their needs

It is this group of people who are likely to benefit most from comparing their current tariff against offers from other suppliers and even their current supplier. It is this group of people who also need more persuasion and support to overcome whichever barrier they face to taking that first, exploratory, step of comparing their prices. Maybe we could call them reluctant switchers.

On Merseyside earlier this year we and our local authority partners started a programme to encourage and support everyone, but particularly our reluctant switchers, to take that first step of comparing their prices.

Our first round of activity in June saw over 4,600 residents compare their prices, and those who decided they wanted to go on and switch their supplier collectively saved an estimated £76,000. That is £76,000 released back into the local economy and available to meet other important household costs.

With the arrival of autumn and within the current furore/worry around price increases we have launched our second campaign.

The key message of the campaign is check now and switch if you gain.

You don’t need to save a lot to make it worthwhile – why overpay for something so important if there is a better alternative. Why give your valuable money away to your supplier when you can better use it to pay for other essentials?

If you check and find you don’t gain then you are in the best possible position for the winter. If you check and could save even a small amount then you should seriously consider switching since it is only by voting with our feet that we send a message to the suppliers.

The importance of affordable fuel has been extensively covered in the media and a range of alternative long term actions promoted across the political parties. However, the issue is stark in the here and now. Merseyside still has one of the highest levels of fuel poverty across the country.

Here and now is the opportunity to check if you can reduce the amount you pay for essential warmth and light. It is also the opportunity to send a message to suppliers that price increases are not something that they can introduce without risking losing customers.

Voting with our feet together is one of the few ways we can challenge the perceived complacency of the fuel suppliers and by doing it collectively we can provide support and inspiration to those reluctant switchers who need it most.

¹ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/198722/Summary_of_Wave_5_findings_of_Public_Attitudes_Tracker.pdf

²  https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/74756/customer-engagement-energy-market-tracking-survey-2013.pdf