Reducing fuel poverty

People across Scotland at risk of fuel poverty will benefit from further investment to make homes warmer and energy efficient with funding announced today.

The Warmer Homes Scotland initiative has awarded a minimum of £38 million to managing agent Warmworks to continue to deliver the government’s fuel poverty scheme over the next two years.

The announcement comes as the 15,000^th Warmer Homes customer welcomed a new gas central heating system being installed at their home in Dundee.

People at risk of fuel poverty are eligible through the scheme to have improvements made to their property such as new heating systems and insulation.

Since the launch of Warmworks in 2015, thousands of people across Scotland have been helped to become warmer in their homes, with households saving an average of over £300 per year on their energy bills.

The extension of the Warmer Homes Scotland to 2022 demonstrates the Scottish Government’s commitment to eradicating fuel poverty and increasing energy efficiency, housing minister Kevin Stewart said.

After meeting the 15,000^th Warmer Homes Scotland customer, Mr Stewart said:

“I welcome the contract extension with Warmworks to continue our work to eradicate fuel poverty. This funding will have a huge impact for people seeking to make essential improvements to the energy efficiency of their home.

“We have taken a world leading approach to tackling fuel poverty with the introduction of the Fuel Poverty Bill and setting an ambitious target that, by 2040, no more than 5% of Scottish households are in fuel poverty.

“I’m delighted to see for myself the excellent work being done in homes across Scotland, making them warmer and more affordable to heat.”

Background

Further information on Fuel Poverty