Home insulation scheme may need govt support
10 November 2008
A
consortium in Somerset is calling on the government to lend its
weight towards a
home insulation scheme that could potentially allow
500,000 people to escape from fuel poverty, reports the Bridgwater
Mercury.
Somerset Fuel Poverty Partnership, which is a consortium of the
county's six local authorities and three other groups, is backing
plans for an investment programme to help people in fuel
poverty.
The programme is aiming to insulate half of the homes in England
and Wales, with six main energy suppliers footing £500 million of
the bill.
It is hoped that by providing homes with
loft insulation,
cavity wall insulation, as well as other fuel
saving methods, ten million households will see their energy bills
cut by £200 each year.
Also, the programme will help reduce domestic carbon emissions by
20 per cent.
All of the major energy companies have upped the cost of their
energy in the past year, with British Gas raising its tariff by 35
per cent.
