Blaenau Gwent Council鈥檚 Cabinet has today endorsed its participation in a regional scheme aimed at improving energy efficiency in the homes of the most fuel poor residents in the borough.
The Council will work in partnership with the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) and energy supplier EDF, as part of the Energy Company Obligation Scheme (ECO4 Flex), to identify domestic properties in need of energy improvement measures. Qualifying homes of property owners and privately renting tenants will be retrofitted with a range of insulation and energy improving measures as part of a 鈥榳hole house鈥� approach.
A previous scheme saw 134 households in Blaenau Gwent benefit from measures including replacement of boilers, cavity wall, internal wall and loft insulation, first time central heating, upgrading electrical heaters and solar panel installation. A flexible element of the new scheme enables councils to tailor energy efficiency schemes to their area. Under ECO4 Flex, councils can refer private tenure households that it considers to be living in fuel poverty or on a low income and vulnerable to the effects of living in a cold home.聽 聽
The Council鈥檚 Cabinet Member for Place & Environment, Cllr Helen Cunningham says:
鈥淎s energy prices have rocketed and more families have been plunged into fuel poverty, this scheme is very welcome. It will target people living in properties with the lowest energy performance ratings and those not on the gas grid. We hope it will help reduce inequalities in in living standards and in so doing deliver 聽health, and wellbeing for people benefiting from the scheme.
It also supports the Council鈥檚 aim to play our part in responding to the worldwide nature and climate crisis. We need to greatly reduce carbon emissions and improve the energy efficiency of homes as part of that.鈥�
More information will be available on the scheme on the Council website soon.