Click on the link above to watch a short message from our CEO, Peter Owen, offering our perspective on the continuing challenges of the climate crisis and chronically high levels fuel poverty.

The theme is “Advice alone is not enough”

Since Energy Projects Plus started over 25 years ago we have always recognised the importance of being able to offer those we advise some direct routes to action, be they

• changing how things are done in the home

• fitting small measures,

• making more effective use of what is currently in place,

• or whole house retrofit.

However, as a country we seem ever distant from meeting climate targets or eradicating fuel poverty.

In the absence of more sustainable solutions, a huge amount of money has rightly been spent by Government in cost of living payments that help struggling families to try to stay warm through very difficult circumstances.

However, great as the need is, this cannot be a permanent solution.

For example, – Private rented homes are generally the least energy efficient yet they often house those least able to meet the high energy costs required to keep adequately warm.

The choice those residents face is simple – switch off or invite fuel debt.

These homes are in effect not fit for purpose.

The financial burden and the immediate and chronic health impacts of unavoidably living in cold homes are plain to see through the surge in demand for financial support to meet daily needs and the increased identification of patients requiring support from health services as a result of their home conditions.

What is urgently needed is a large scale, locally driven future-proofing programme that significantly reduces the energy demand of homes, particularly those occupied by low income families, through a fabric first approach that addresses insulation levels, heat loss through air leakage, and has embedded in-depth education of residents in best practice use of the home.

Current schemes do not achieve this standard.

Our charity, and similar ones across the UK, provide advice and support to thousands of people who desperately need the retrofit works that would future proof their homes, and make them fit for purpose.

We refer into national schemes for action but are encountering a fragmented system that does not appear to be primarily focussed on the needs of the resident.

We are finding examples where both resident and home are a match for schemes and measures but there are no offers from scheme managers. Worse still an initial rejection for support can be replaced by a valid offer after seeking an alternative second (or third) contractor.

It seems a fundamentally flawed system where the ability to receive measures is driven by the commercial interest of an installer and not by the needs of the vulnerable resident.

We consider that locally driven, locally focussed programmes, whether part of a national infrastructure programme or independent, would provide large benefits – economically through developing a local fully skilled installer base that could meet the demand generated by seriously tackling the issues, but also have positive impacts on the financial, physical, and mental wellbeing of residents, with a linked reduction in demand on local health and support services currently driven by poorly performing homes.

In 2025 we will be intensifying our focus on achieving actual improvements to homes and achieving the associated benefits across the health and support sector, inching forward in meeting climate targets and the eradication fuel poverty, built on the firm foundation of local high quality and expert independent advice.

We are declaring 2025 as the year of data sharing.

Building on award-winning fuel poverty pilots delivered throughout 2024 with health sector partners including NHS Cheshire & Merseyside, Health Innovation Northwest Coast, and Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital – we will be delivering a “Gamechanger” initiative.”

Working in partnership with local Primary Care Networks and regional Public Health teams we will be exploring how health sector data can be used (with full recognition of confidentiality requirements) to identify and align patients most at risk from poor home conditions with practical measures that future-proof their health.

We will also continue to explore with partners how we can instigate the removal of barriers within the journey from advice to action.

We see 2025 as an opportunity to develop ambitious programmes, such as a unified health & housing project covering all of Cheshire & Merseyside, aimed at making a significant difference to carbon emissions, fuel poverty and the health and well-being of residents across Merseyside and Cheshire.

We would be pleased to discuss our plans with any like-minded organisations and invite you to contact us to find out more: info@epplus.org

E.ON Next has paid £14.5 million after failing to provide final bills and refund customer credit balances to prepayment meter customers.

An investigation by the energy regulator, Ofgem, found almost 250,000 prepayment meter customer accounts were affected between February 2021 and September 2023 due to an error within its billing system, which E.ON Next self-reported to Ofgem. 100,000 of the accounts were also in credit.

As a result of the issue, prepayment customers who transferred to another supplier or terminated their contract did not receive final bills within six weeks, as required under Ofgem’s rules. E.ON Next also subsequently failed to make compensation payments of £30 or £60 as required under the Supplier Guaranteed Standards of Performance (GSoP).

Because they did not receive a final bill, affected customers were also unaware of the credit remaining on their accounts, worth £51 on average, and were not provided a refund automatically.

As a result of these failures, and in recognition of the impact on its customers, many of which may have faced financial difficulty, E.ON Next has agreed to pay a total of £14.5million in compensation and redress payments, with each customer account receiving on average £144. This includes £4.7million in credit refunds, £6.6million in GSoP compensation payments, and an additional £3.2million in compensation to affected customers.

Where it has not been possible to trace a customer, E.ON Next has agreed to make additional payments to the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Fund, which funds projects and schemes to support energy consumers, particularly those in vulnerable situations.

In addition to the compensation and redress package, E.ON Next has also agreed to voluntarily write off debt held by almost 150,000 prepayment meter customers who closed their accounts with the supplier between February 2021 and September 2023.

All affected accounts who were able to be identified have been contacted by E.ON Next, and the company has since updated its billing systems and processes to resolve the issue, and ensure final bills are sent to prepayment meter customers.

Beth Martin, director for consumer protection and competition at Ofgem, said:

“Prepayment meter customers are more likely to face financial difficulties, and during a period where households have been facing a significant cost of living crisis, it’s unacceptable that consumers did not receive refunds for credit that was owed to them, or final bills they are entitled to.

“E.ON Next has demonstrated an understanding of the significant impact this issue may have had on its customers, and it’s encouraging that they self-reported the issue and have worked with us to resolve it, and compensate affected customers to put things right. The action to write off debt will also offer affected households’ peace of mind.

“We are committed to driving up standards in the retail market so each and every customer gets the service they deserve from their energy company. If we see companies failing to act in the interest of their customers, we can and will take action.”

Opus Energy has agreed to pay more than £7 million in refunds, redress and goodwill payments after identifying it overcharged almost 88,000 non-domestic customers between 2003 and 2023.

The non-domestic supplier had two faults in its billing system, meaning customers were temporarily on the wrong tariff or their billing periods were incorrectly duplicated. The faults were initially identified during an audit, after which Opus Energy voluntarily reported itself to the regulator.   

These two faults led to 87,825 customers being overcharged over a 20-year period. While 93% of accounts were overcharged by less than £50 in total, one customer, who has since been refunded, overpaid £102,000.

Opus Energy has since resolved the technical faults and will pay £5.5 million in refunds to affected customers. An additional £1.56 million will be paid in goodwill and redress payments. The supplier has committed not to recover amounts from those customers who were undercharged as a result of the system faults. 

It has identified all affected accounts and has processed refunds automatically for current customers. Former customers will be contacted to receive refunds where the refund due is £2.50 or greater. Any unclaimed refunds and refunds below £2.50 will be paid to the Energy Redress Fund. Accounts still supplied by Opus Energy have already been refunded. 

Jacqui Gehrmann, deputy director of retail compliance at Ofgem, said: “All energy consumers should be able to trust their supplier to provide accurate bills and charge them only what they owe. 

“While things can go wrong, we expect suppliers to identify issues quickly. So, it’s concerning that these billing issues weren’t spotted sooner.

“Many businesses have struggled with the high cost of energy in recent years. Any instance of a customer overpaying, no matter how small, is unacceptable. 

“We’ve worked closely with Opus Energy in recent months to ensure the issues are rectified, and that customers affected are refunded and compensated swiftly.”

While the error is a serious matter, the regulator has taken into account that Opus Energy has cooperated fully with Ofgem’s compliance engagement and has taken steps to address the failings. Had the company not engaged proactively and resolved the issues quickly, the redress package sought would have been higher.  

Any funds being issued as part of “redress” payments are managed by the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme. Charities, and some social landlords, can apply to bid for some of these funds, to pay for projects with a primary purpose of delivering energy efficiency advice to vulnerable residents. Energy Projects Plus is pleased to have delivered multiple project through this Redress Scheme, including our current “Warm and Well” initiative, focussing on supporting residents to increase the warmth of their home, to improve their health and wellbeing.

Please note that, with immediate effect, the LEAP Boiler Scheme has closed to new applications.

Any clients who have already been assessed during a LEAP home visit, and referred into the scheme, will still have the offer of funding honoured (subject to survey by a Gas Safe Registered heating engineer).

This closure is simply due to the number of clients being referred into the scheme, which has exhausted funding much earlier than usual.

Part of the reason for this is the fact that other funding sources, e.g. the Energy Company Obligation, have moved away from providing like-for-like replacements for broken, condensing boilers. This has led to an increasing demand for LEAP Boilers.

This boiler scheme is one potential solution available when vulnerable home-owners are referred to Energy Projects Plus in a no-heat situation, with a broken gas central heating boiler. We will continue to accept referrals for clients in this situation, but please help manage their expectations when referring them to us, as there may not be a quick and simple solution available this Winter.

There are several requests for comment and feedback available right now. If you’d like to have your say on any of these issues, you’ll find more details below:

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OFGEM

“Call for evidence: data-matching and benefit letter evidencing routes in ECO4 and Great British Insulation Scheme”

We are calling on views and evidence from all interested parties to help us shape our thinking on methods of evidencing Help to Heat Group membership under ECO4 and low-income group membership under the Great British Insulation Scheme.

We are seeking written comments to these questions by 11.59pm on Monday 11 November 2024. Please send comments to ECO@ofgem.gov.uk.

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OFGEM

“Refreshing our Consumer Vulnerability Strategy”

We are consulting on our proposals for a refreshed Consumer Vulnerability Strategy.

Everyone is welcome to share their views and help us develop the updated strategy.

We particularly encourage responses from: 

consumer groups
charities
suppliers
network companies
consumers

You can learn more, and respond through this webpage: www.ofgem.gov.uk/consultation/refreshing-our-consumer-vulnerability-strategy

Closing date = 05/11/2024

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Liverpool City Region Combined Authority

“Public consultation over world’s largest tidal power scheme”

• First public consultation for Mersey Tidal Power project
• Formal planning process has also begun
• ‘First of a kind’ project could provide clean, predictable energy for 120 years and power hundreds of thousands of homes
• Consultation to include events and new website
• Project could create thousands of jobs and a new walking and cycling route across the River Mersey

You can learn more, and respond through this website: https://lcrlistens.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/merseytidal/

Closing date = 15/11/2024

We are delighted to confirm the welcome return of the LEAP Boiler Scheme, to support vulnerable, low-income homeowners to receive a fully funded visit from a Gas Safe Register heating engineer, to assess a recently-broken (i.e. broken down within the past 12 months, or exhibiting an intermittent fault) wall-mounted, gas central heating boiler.

Wherever possible the heating engineer will fix the boiler during their visit. If the boiler is beyond economical repair, the heating engineer will book themselves back in to conduct a 2nd visit, during which they’ll replace the boiler.

Funding is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, and is expected to run through to the end of March 2025, or until funds are exhausted.

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LEAP Boiler Criteria 2024-25

Homeowners with a broken boiler and in a “no heat situation” must meet the following criteria:

1a) Claiming means tested benefits

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income Support
• Pension Guarantee Credit
• Child Tax Credit / Working Tax Credit
• Universal credit
• Housing Benefit

Or

1b) Total annual household income less than £31,000

And

2) There must be someone in the household who is:

• Aged 65 or over, or
• Aged under 5, or
• Suffering from one of the following health conditions:
  • Cancer / Terminal illness
  • Cardiovascular condition
  • Respiratory condition
  • Disability (affecting mobility)
  • Mental Health Condition

Referral Process

• Refer your client to us using the “General Referral Form”, found here: www.epplus.org.uk/referrals
• Please make sure on your referral that you select the option confirming the client is in a no heat situation, plus any vulnerability present in the home.
• Upon receipt of your referral we will check client eligibility for a LEAP home visit. It is only during the home visit that a LEAP assessor will register the client as being eligible for support through the LEAP Boiler Scheme. This cannot be actioned outside a home visit.

For further information, or to request an update on a referral you’ve submitted, please call our Save Energy Advice Line free on 0800 043 0151, or email us at advice@epplus.org

To refer yourself for consideration you can use the above contact details, or complete a “self-referral” by clicking here.

Ofgem has published the interim findings from their Energy Consumer Satisfaction Survey.

Here is an overview of the main points:

• overall satisfaction with energy suppliers has continued to increase, rising to 78% in July 2024 from 73% in January to February 2024
• satisfaction with customer service (71%) has increased since the last wave of the survey, and is at the highest level seen since September to October 2021
• consumers’ experience of contacting their supplier has improved, with 70% finding this ‘easy’ in July 2024, compared with 65% in January to February 2024
• 8% of survey respondents reported making a complaint, consistent with January to February 2024, with satisfaction levels with the overall handling of the complaint remaining low (47%)
• 71% of those who reported that they ran out of credit or fell behind on energy bills for affordability reasons said they had contact with their supplier about this, compared with 60% in January to February 2024
• 18% of those who had run out of credit or fallen behind for affordability reasons reported that their supplier proactively contacted them to discuss this, a return to levels reported in August to September 2023

Methodology

Fieldwork for the survey was conducted from 10 July to 1 August 2024. 

The data reported reflects customers’ perceptions of their supplier and the service they receive based on surveying 3,750 domestic energy bill payers across Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). The survey used a mixed mode data collection, including face-to-face interviewing with digitally excluded respondents. Quotas were set on age, gender, region, Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), ethnicity and payment type to achieve a sample representative of households in Great Britain. 

A sample boost of prepayment and standard credit customers was also included in this wave of the survey. These customers were boosted to increase the sample size and allow for more robust analysis of these groups. 

You can read this interim report on Ofgem’s website, here: www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/energy-consumer-satisfaction-survey-july-2024-interim-findings