Across England, thousands of households are set to benefit from a new government scheme. This £67 million investment to install insulation and clean heating will see a reduction of up to £200 a year in energy bills.
With a focus on net-zero 2050, upgrading insulation in homes and installing low-cost clean heating has become a priority. The added benefit is that up to 4,300 low-income households will receive these energy efficiency upgrades to cut bills.
The Home Upgrade Grant
Announced on the 21st of February as part of the UK government’s Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) scheme, local authorities will be given access to financial support for low-income, off-gas grid households that are reliant on oil and bottled gas to heat their homes.
Further grants will be available too, helping to pay for wall and roof insulation, thermostats and room heating controls as well as new low-carbon heating systems as part of the new energy efficiency proposals. By the end of March 2023, homes should expect these new measures to be in place.
A total of £950 million was allocated to the HUG scheme, with this being the first round. The latest funding has supported the growth of 1,300 jobs in the green energy sector.
22 local authorities will share the £67 million of the HUG funding, adding to the Sustainable Warmth Competition in December, seeing more than 250 other local authorities allocated £152 million to improve energy efficiency in UK homes.
By 2030, the UK government is aiming to achieve a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of Band C. Meanwhile, the number of low-income households living in the least energy-efficient homes has fallen by 1.3 million since 2010.
£6.6 billion has been invested to decarbonise buildings, with almost a third of this aimed at lower-income households. The UK wants to become a world leader in climate change, with ambitions of making it easier to keep homes warm, as well as reducing energy bills.
What About UK Energy Bills?
A £150 non-repayable rebate in Council Tax bills for all households in Bands A-D in England has been announced in a £9.1 billion package.
With price cap warnings and soaring energy bills, many households have been hit hard recently. However, UK homes can search here to find the cheapest energy deals on the market.
This autumn, domestic electricity customers will receive a £200 discount on household energy bills, paid back automatically over the next 5 years to help spread the cost of the energy price cap increase.
£21 billion has been issued in support by the UK government for new measures such as:
- providing for the cost of living
- reducing the Universal Credit taper rate
- raising the National Living Wage
- freezing alcohol and fuel duties
- providing targeted help with energy bills
Furthermore, a commitment of £950 million to the Home Upgrade Grant aims to tackle fuel poverty and meet net-zero ambitions. This is through The Heat and Buildings Strategy and Net Zero Strategy, driving energy efficiency upgrades and low-carbon heating to low-income households living off the gas grid.
The latest spread of HUG funding is as follows:
| South East | £18,836,741 |
| South West | £12,698,436 |
| Greater London | £9,573,062 |
| North West | £8,699,940 |
| East | £7,314,161 |
| West Midlands | £3,760,894 |
| North East | £3,587,843 |
| East Midlands | £1,439,532 |
| Yorkshire | £1,179,679 |
Storm Eunice Leaves 200,000 UK Homes Without Power But Generates 42% Of Electricity Across UK
Ferocious storms from the Atlantic saw around 1.4 million households without power after record winds swept across the UK.
After Storm Eunice hit the nation, almost 200,000 British homes are still without power, leaving transport networks in chaos. However, the increase in wind power has resulted in power prices falling by 11 per cent.
Homes Across The UK Left Without Power
Record winds of up to 196km/h (122 mph) caused widespread disruption across Europe, labelled as one of the worst storms in a decade. More than £300 million worth of damage has been caused by the storm, with hundreds of thousands of homes are still without power.
The Energy Networks Association stated that roughly 226,000 customers remained without power on Saturday morning, meanwhile 1.2 million had been reconnected.
As of today, the following areas are still without power:
| Area | People without power |
| South of England | approx. 20,000 customers |
| South East | approx. 23,000 customers |
| South West | approx. 29,000 customers |
| Eastern England | approx. 7,000 customers |
| South Wales | approx. 3,000 customers |
The power of the storm was so strong that due to high winds, planes were struggling to land, as well as the spire of St Thomas Church in Wells, Somerset, crashed to the ground and the O2 Arena in London had its room heavily damaged.
At the Grain power station in Kent, a chimney was knocked down due to Storm Eunice, as well as the power station near Rochester left with only two chimneys due to damage from the wind. With damage to the site, the power station was left temporarily offline as a precaution
Eunice is the second storm to hit the UK this week after Storm Dudley. Furthermore, today was the announcement of another storm, named Storm Franklin.
This has added to the trouble, with more expected flooding and high winds. Severe disruptions to public transport are predicted, with Network Rail advising customers to check before travelling.
In Northern Ireland, counties Londonderry and Tyrone have been hit the hardest, with heavy rain leading to severe flooding and football pitches left under metres of water in Castlederg.
According to Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE), 3,000 homes are still without power and at its peak, more than 10,000 homes were without power.
With many places without power, now may be a good time to see how much energy you use. You can try this electricity usage calculator to see the amount of energy you are using, as well as if you can save money.
Can I Claim If My Home Has No Power Due To Storm Eunice?
Yes, household’s that have been without electricity for 24 hours due to Storm Eunice will be eligible to receive £50, announced in n a new package deal today by UK Power Networks.
Owners of the electricity cables in the South East of England, the East of England and London, UK Power Networks maintain the lines and have stated that eligible customers do not need to contact it to claim the payment.
Those impacted by Storm Eunice will be eligible to receive £50 after 24 hours without electricity, with an extra £70 for reaching 48 hours, as well as an additional £70 thereafter for every 12 hours without power.
Customers will be contacted through a text message, email or letter in the coming days to notify them of any compensation owed.
High Winds See Wind Energy Soar And Prices Drop
However, with every cloud, there is a silver lining. As Storm Eunice battered the country, there was a soar in wind farm generated electricity across the UK.
As of 8.30 am on Saturday, the National Grid reported that wind power accounted for 42% of electricity across the UK. This is in comparison to the 22% from fossil fuels and 15% from nuclear energy.
The yearly average of generated renewable energy is around 19.3%. This accounts for solar, wind and hydroelectric.
This incredible soar in wind power saw UK power lowering by 11 per cent to £140 per megawatt-hour (MWh). This led to wind turbine energy generation significantly outpacing gas over the past week, averaging 11.48 gigawatts, well above the 7.2GW for gas.
In Germany, prices plummeted to the lowest level of the year, falling by more than two-thirds due to expectations of wind farm energy output doubling by tomorrow.
The UK is currently on a path to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, with the strong gusts only adding to the nations wind power farm generation levels.
More energy suppliers are looking to use renewable fuel sources and try to meet their green goals. This list of energy suppliers can help to show you which ones are green efficient, as well as which ones will bring you the best deal.
The world’s largest offshore wind farm is located in the UK, just off the coast of Yorkshire. This area was given a red alert for wind today, expecting high levels of wind power to be generated.
In 2020, record-high levels of wind energy generation resulted in the ‘greenest year on record according to the National Grid. From 2009 to 2020, electricity generated from wind power in the UK increased by 715 per cent.
On Friday, this was the breakdown of energy generated in the UK:
| Source of energy | Amount |
| Wind | 40.5% |
| Gas | 20.1% |
| Nuclear | 16.1% |
| Imports | 11.8% |
| Biomass | 5.8% |
| Hydro | 2.9% |
| Solar | 1.6% |
| Coal | 1.3% |
| Other | 0.0% |
There are still huge concerns regarding climate change. The disruption caused by the storm has shown how weather changes may impact our lives in the future. Hopefully, the increase in wind power can show governments it is possible to use renewable energy as a primary source.
With warmer and wetter winters predicted, continuing to burn fossil fuels and cut down our forests at the same rate will lead to drastic consequences to our planet.