Heat network fund arrives at critical time – but where is energy efficiency?

Lily Frencham, CEO at the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE), said:Since the very beginning of the energy price crisis, we have been speaking directly with the Energy Minister and senior civil servants to deliver protections for heat network customers to ensure they do not fall through the gaps. As a result, we are hugely relieved to see the new Prime Minister commit to a fund that will provide equivalent support for these households and businesses at this critical time ahead of winter.Heat networks will play a critical role in bolstering energy security and affordably heating the UK for decades to come – it is imperative that Government, with the support of industry, accelerates the delivery of such low-carbon solutions to help insulate the UK from volatile prices and provide a modern energy system that works for the user.While we celebrate today’s announcement for its progress on heat networks, if the Prime Minister does indeed wish to ‘tackle the root causes of high prices to make sure we are never in the same position again’, she has made a critical omission – energy efficiency. The lack of emergency, immediate action now to support the widespread deployment of energy efficiency measures ahead of this winter marks a critical gap in the UK's defences against the worst impacts of the energy price crisis, and a major hole in the country’s short and long-term energy security.​We support the news of reviews into both electricity market regulation and net zero progress, and are pleased to see the impacts of the current energy crisis reflected in an understanding that a paradigm shift is required across the longer-term energy system. It is vital that these reviews both continue to build on existing work and that they are ambitious in developing demand-side solutions to both the climate and the gas price crises.