The Northern Ireland Government's independent advisory body on sustainable development
Re-connect Again
As a consequence of the soaring prices of oil and gas, some people are reviving an unwelcome return to the old practice of digging peat for this winter’s fuel, in some cases exploiting bogs that haven’t been touched for thirty years.
The last official figures from 2006 show that 34% of Northern Ireland’s households were in fuel poverty, the highest level of any UK region. The effect of recent price rises is likely to push that figure up to around 40% - that means around 280,000 households will find it difficult to heat their homes this winter.
Fuel poverty has three root causes – income, fuel prices and energy consumption. Governments have limited abilities to control either incomes or global oil prices and the Executive will surely want to consider short-term measures to support vulnerable families through the next few months. Energy consumption presents opportunities for beneficial intervention and, to its credit, the government has made encouraging progress in this area. But while energy-saving applications have been installed in many homes, leading to an overall 20% improvement in the energy efficiency of Northern Ireland’s housing stock, there is plenty of scope for further progress - and not just here, as the Chair of the SDC has observed.
A recent report from the NI Audit Office made a series of recommendations to improve the Warm Homes Scheme as a means of tackling fuel poverty and the Department for Social Development is currently reviewing that programme. Meanwhile, the Fuel Poverty Taskforce will report to the Minister with its recommendations for further actions.
Some of those actions are likely to focus on that most elusive of objectives – to try to change consumer behaviour. The mushrooming use of household electrical appliances – everything from iPods to hair straighteners – has countered some of the gains made through more efficient space and water heating. It is important to continue the use of awareness campaigns to reduce consumption.
Another dimension will involve the increased use of renewable technologies. Through DETI’s Environment and Renewable Energy Fund (EREF), the Housing Executive has been enabled to install solar water heating in over 2000 of its properties; the tenants of those houses will certainly appreciate the financial benefits of free hot water for many years to come. Another strand of EREF funding has facilitated the Reconnect programme, which has awarded grants to almost 3000 households to install wood-fuelled boilers, wind turbines, solar water heating, photovoltaic cells and ground source heat pumps. The numbers may yet be small, but these ‘early adopters’ will be a powerful influence with all the people in their personal networks.
The price volatility of oil, gas and electricity has given a new impetus to sustainable energy alternatives. A new cross-party Assembly group on energy has been set up and SDC welcomes the proposals for inter-departmental co-operation on sustainable energy issues.
In keeping with such commitments, DETI has also commissioned a review of the Reconnect scheme. There is no doubt that its funding was a critical component of the uptake of low-carbon technologies in private households. In helping people to live within environmental limits and by contributing to the alleviation of fuel poverty, Reconnect fulfils the Executive’s aspirations for sustainable development and it deserves a new lease of life.
