A new research report has been released investigating the potential for electricity network operators to make a direct contribution to preventing fuel poverty, by investing in domestic energy efficiency improvements.
Commissioned by Northern Powergrid and the national fuel poverty charity, National Energy Action, the report investigates the potential to divert funding allocated to network upgrade schemes into local projects that improve energy efficiency and thus reduce energy demand for those who need it the most.
The idea could help to challenge current network planning processes and the report seeks to explore the viability of applying this concept.
John Barnett, Policy and Markets Director at Northern Powergrid, said in launching the report “We wanted to explore the premise that in some cases, permanently reducing peak energy demand is socially, financially, and environmentally better than creating extra capacity in the network to cope with increased peak demand. The onus is now on ourselves and our partners to do more work in depth to understand better the constraints and opportunities identified in this report for distribution network operators to help alleviate fuel poverty”.
You can read the full report by following the link.