The Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) is a government energy-efficiency scheme in Great Britain, designed to tackle fuel poverty and help reduce carbon emissions. ECO is an obligation placed on energy companies to deliver energy efficiency measures to domestic premises. ECO is not a grant scheme; it is up to the energy companies to determine which retrofit projects they choose to fund, the level of funding they provide, and the Retrofit Coordinator and installers that they choose to work with.
ECO4 measures were able to be delivered from August 2022. The ECO4 scheme will run until 31 March 2026.
ECO4 focusses on improving the least energy efficient homes and households in fuel poverty, as only properties in bands D-G can be treated. It also aims to deliver a more complete upgrade of those homes, shifting to a multi-measure whole-house retrofit approach. Furthermore, a minimum number of private tenure homes in energy efficiency rating band E, F and G must be upgraded throughout ECO4, ensuring the least efficient homes are treated.
There is a new Minimum Requirement (MR) to improve the energy efficiency rating of band D and E homes to at least a band C and band F and G homes to at least a band D. ECO4 aims to encourage the installation of various energy efficient measures such as insulation measures, first time central heating, renewable heating, and district heating connections.
Plans to remove a number of disability-related benefits from the eligibility criteria have been placed in order to create a greater emphasis on household income. This will mean that rather than simply claiming a benefit there will be a clearer focus on low-income homes and ensuring those who are struggling to heat their homes and pay their energy bills can access this funding.
If a member of a household is claiming an income-related benefit and the combined annual income of the household is less than £31,000, they could be viable for free insulation grants through ECO4. In place of the disability benefits that will be taken out of the criteria, Housing Benefits and Pension Credit Savings Credit will be added
