Energy Company Obligation (England, Scotland and Wales)
The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) was introduced alongside the Green Deal (no longer open to new applications). It aims to save carbon and get efficient boilers and insulation into the homes of vulnerable people across Great Britain.
ECO is split into three elements:
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Affordable Warmth: which may provide free energy saving measures to low-income and vulnerable households (Please note: You can't get this help if you are a social housing tenant)
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Carbon Saving Obligation: to provide funding to insulate solid-walled properties (internal and external wall insulation) and those with 'hard to treat' cavity walls.
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Carbon Saving Communities: to provide free insulation and glazing measures to people living in the bottom 15% of the UK's most deprived areas. It is expected that this part of ECO will particularly benefit people in social housing. You have to be on a low income and live in certain areas where the population size is below 10,000.
Please note that it does not have to be the bill payer's circumstances that qualify a property for support from ECO. Anyone who resides at an address can meet the criteria for the property to benefit.
The energy regulator, Ofgem, monitors the scheme.
More information
England and Wales: Information on ECO is available on the Energy Saving Trust website and Gov.UK website.
Scotland: Information on ECO is available on the Energy Savings Trust Scotland website.
Updated: January 2018