Wednesday 8 March 2017

New £300k pilot project targets rural fuel poor homes

Around 220 rural householders in Scotland are to receive support to reduce their energy bills, thanks to a new pilot project.

Advisers from Home Energy Scotland (HES) will visit selected homes in rural areas to see what more can be done to cut their fuel bills.

The Scottish Government states the £300,000 12-month Homecare pilot will be evaluated before a decision is taken on rolling out to households nationwide.

The news comes as an independent panel of four academic experts has been established to consider changes to how fuel poverty is defined.

Angela Constance, Communities, Social Security and Equalities Secretary said while Scotland has made “good progress” in tackling fuel poverty, there are still a lot of people struggling with unaffordable energy costs.

She added: “That is why we’re developing a new long term strategy to tackle fuel poverty and will introduce a Warm Homes Bill to set a new target.

“The HES pilot is about providing tailored support to people in the greatest need – helping them lower their fuel bills and hopefully move out of fuel poverty altogether.”

Last month the UK Government pledged to provide more help for fuel poor homes.

A consortium of 13 European organisations are forming a ‘knowledge hub’ to tackle fuel poverty.