Energy secretary's sudden u-turn on boiler penalties leaves industry puzzled
British government makes unexpected changes to its home heating policies as consumer costs become main focus. Energy secretary drops penalties on boiler makers while trying to keep green goals on track
Ed Miliband plans to cut boiler-related penalties by 80% because of growing worries about consumer costs. The energy secretaryʼs new approach will lower fines for boiler-makers who dont meet heat-pump sales targets from £3‚000 to £500 per unit
The policy change means new boilers might cost just £20 more (instead of earlier £120 estimates); this shift shows how quick the government is to re-think its eco-friendly plans when they hit peoples wallets. A source from the industry said: “The net-zero department is really worried about all the bad press – theyre trying hard to keep costs down“
Morgan McSweeney‚ who became No 10ʼs chief-of-staff about a month ago is pushing for more focus on day-to-day issues. His influence already shows in several policy changes:
- Cancelled smoking ban in pub gardens
- Stopped new sin-taxes
- Changed approach to green policies
The governments big goal of installing 600k heat pumps yearly by 28ʼ looks shaky now – last year saw just 37k installations which is way below whatʼs needed. The clean heat rules starting next spring say companies must make heat pumps 6% of their sales; this number will go up until gas boilers are gone by 35ʼ
A department spokesperson mentioned: “Recent energy problems show we need better homes; our warm homes plan will help with upgrades like insulation solar panels and heat pumps“ but didnt give exact details about the changes timing
