Government’s Green Deal Stimulation Paying Off?

The Government recently announced that anyone wishing to become accredited as a Green Deal Assessor; Green Deal installer; or Green Deal provider; will not have to pay any fees for their registration for the next two years. The move came as a result of talks designed to develop initiatives making the Scheme attractive to the service providers who are to be the bedrock of its success.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (normally you’ll see them referred to as DECC) is also bearing all running costs for the Green Deal Oversight Body – a regulatory service set up to ensure that consumers receive the highest possible quality of service under the Green Deal Scheme.

The actual running of the body has been contracted to Gemserv and REAL, who won the contract in a bidding competition, and who will be directly responsible for ensuring that Green Deal Assessors; Green Deal installers; and Green Deal providers are all delivering provably excellent services to the end users of the scheme.

The official launch date for the Green Deal Scheme is still October 1 2012 – and to this end the DECC has announced that the Green Deal Oversight Body will be in operation from early August, giving the assessors, installers and providers time to register and get ready to begin delivering their services.

It is not yet clear whether the Green Deal financing structure’s delay (the loan system is currently believed to be falling into place in January 2013) will halt provision of services from Green Deal Assessors; Green Deal installers; and Green Deal providers. Currently, statements released by Ed Davey (the Energy Secretary) suggest that Green Deal assessments will go ahead throughout the autumn and winter of 2012; but that actual Green Deal financed work will not begin until the start of next year.

The October 1 launch is now planned as a “soft launch”, which will see the assessors, installers and suppliers delivering the start of Green Deal services, without presenting the full package until early 2013. In particular, the Green Deal providers will be able to use the period between October 1 and January 28 2013 to test their systems, ensuring everything is working properly for the delayed switch-on date.

August Newsletter

Details Released on Green Deal Scheme

The Government has released more details on the architecture of the Green Deal scheme – including information on the energy efficiency measures that will be covered by the scheme (as many as 45 different installations or processes); and the consumer protection measures that will be put in place to ensure that Green Deal installers and providers deliver the right service to the right people.

Included in the energy efficiency measures ratified by the Green Deal are:

·         Radiant heating (for example heated skirting boards, or other low-energy constant sources of heat)

·         HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning)

·         Energy efficient taps and showers

·         Rooflights.

The policymakers have been particularly careful to introduce measures reinforcing the originally stated Green Deal aims of impartial advice and best practice. Regulations require Green Deal Assessors to declare if they have any affiliation to, or are receiving commission from, Green Deal installers or Green Deal providers. Additionally, the regulation restricts cold calling to protect consumers from pressure.

DECC also published a Green Deal Impact Assessment, which states that – on average – energy bolls for consumers who take up the Green Deal should run to an overall lesser figure than in properties where the owners do nothing. That said, there is a caveat in place specifying that the Green Deal Golden Rule does not absolutely guarantee that the projected cost savings of an installation will exceed the amount of Green Deal finance taken out. DECC’s response is that the “significant protections” built into the Golden Rule – which calculates the amount of finance a property owner should be eligible for to make energy saving improvements – make the calculation robust.

DECC has also noted that the Green Deal for business will launch on October 1, at the same time as the Green Deal for residential properties. There had been some speculation as to whether the two parts of the Green Deal Scheme would be able to roll out at the same time – as the commercial and business construction and property markets are best by complexities not present in domestic ownership.