Green Grants Impossible To Access

We have had several members complaining about the difficulty of finding an installer to undertake work under the Green Grant scheme and PCC  have confirmed that installers are focussing on ECO  to get 'quick wins'.

What Is The Problem? 

Only approved installers can be used for works that are funded or partly funded by any of the green grants available. The overhead of administration and certification discourages most small suppliers so the available pool of installers tends to be a few, typically larger, specialist providers.

With the array of grants available, it is easiest to focus on the ECO funding - which provides central heating and insulation for those on benefits.  As the recipients are typically tenants and as the landlords typically have to pay very little, there is negligible oversight and providers get the benefit of larger jobs with less input from the customer so obviously, they focus in these areas.

This is a similar problem to the one that arose several years ago when many properties had cavity wall insulation applied - the typical install was badly done, the landlord was left with none of the required certification paperwork and negligible comeback - the paperwork having been processed by one company, the work done by another and the bill having been paid by the council out of grant funding.

If we really are going to transform our properties over the next 10-15 years, government encouragement in the form of grants needs a complete rethink as at present, suppliers game the system, overcharge and under-deliver.

In the short term, Anttonia Lindup at PCC says, "As the GHG scheme has now been extended for a further year, this does offer some hope as suppliers are more likely to accept GHG work now the short timeframe has been somewhat removed. I can't suggest any installers to contact, but I'd continue to pursue known installers to get quotes "

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