It looks like the politicians and energy companies are starting to pull at the seams of the Green Deal. The energy companies have delayed implementation of the funding framework that will underpin the Green Deal with its core concept of funding environmentally beneficial home improvements through energy bills. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) are remaining silent in the face of calls to make correspondence about this issue a matter of public record – in response to Shadow Climate Change Minister Luciana Berger’s request Energy Minister Gregory Barker, commented that “we believe that release of this information would prejudice commercial interests“. It is thought that the energy companies are reticent about the scheme in its current form as they have to make extensive changes to their billing systems to handle Green Deal payments AND shoulder most of the risk of non-payment.
There are fears that improvements made through the Green Deal will end up costing homeowners more than equivalent improvements made without the Deal. This is due to the fees payable through the Deal and the commercial rates of interest charged on the loans upon which the Deal is built. Green Deal improvements will be paid for by loans that will then be paid off through energy bills.
Energy Minister Gregory Barker has rebuffed opponents, stating via Twitter that “…Energy Co’s obliged to start collecting #GreenDeal payments from Oct. Its the law!”
Oh and in an update to yesterdays post, the planned launch date is the 1st of October 2012.
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