Getting the right support in place
June 21st 2009 The past 12 month have seen significant changes in the energy sector, many of which will have a direct impact on those working in the fields of energy efficiency and management.
Not least, the creation of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in October 2008, signals a major shift in the way these two, inextricably linked, issues are viewed by the Prime Minister and Government. Our focus is to secure our energy supplies while moving the country to a low carbon economy, and achieving a global climate change agreement at Copenhagen in December this year.
In recognition of this, one of the first decisions of the new Department was to commit to the most ambitious climate change targets in the world –a cut of 80%, on 1990 levels, by 2050, with interim targets along the way. And we recently unveiled the world’s first carbon budgets – which will be met through collective action across Government. All departments will be involved in delivering the carbon budgets, through formulating policies to reduce emissions and through reducing emissions from the public sector estate.
Since DECC was formed there have been a number of major milestones and announcements, which will be of particular interest to readers of Energy Efficient Solutions. For example, we recently released further details about our planned rollout of smart meters to homes and businesses across the country.
At this stage, the Government’s preferred rollout option is a central communications model - where energy suppliers are responsible for the installation and maintenance of the smart meter but the communication to and from the device is coordinated by a third party across the whole of Great Britain.
We’re also considering two other principal models – a competitive model, where energy suppliers manage all aspects of smart meters; and a fully centralised model, under which regional franchises would be set up to manage the installation and operation, and communications to and from the meters would be centrally managed on a national level.
It’s a big project, affecting several million businesses and 26 million homes, so it’s important we get the system right. Our consultation on the rollout closes on August 3, and we look forward to hearing the views of industry members such as ESTA.
This year also saw major progress towards the implementation of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), which I know ESTA members take a keen interest. We published a new guide for business to help prepare for the implementation of the CRC, and launched a nationwide consultation on the regulations which will underpin the scheme.
Overall we expect organisations to benefit by around £1 billion as a result of the CRC, while reducing emissions by at least four million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2020. We also expect the CRC to contribute more widely to the development of a low carbon economy.The scheme will generate demand for energy efficient technologies as well as energy management software and services.
We’re also planning an ambitious retro-fit of UK households with the aim of making our housing stock virtually zero-carbon by 2050. Our Great British Refurb will see whole-house energy makeovers offers to seven million homes by 2020, and all homes by 2030.
And we’re working hard to meet our renewable energy targets of securing 15% of all energy from renewable sources by 2020, and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by at least 34% by 2022 – only 11 years from now.
This summer the Government will publish an Energy and Climate Change Strategy to outline a low-carbon future that is prosperous and energy-secure. The strategy will show how we will meet our climate change targets and budgets, and set out the European and international context for our domestic action. The UK has the skills and capabilities to be at the forefront of opportunities opened up by the move towards a low carbon economy – now worth more than £3 trillion worldwide and growing fast. With the right support in place, the energy services sector will be among those to benefit.
Joan Ruddock
Energy and Climate Change Ministe More articles from WEE News Desk: | 
