‘Price shock’ to hit households

Royal Borough: Study predicts impact of rising bills

Households in Windsor and Maidenhead are facing a ‘price shock’ from ‘drastically’ high energy bills – even with Government help – new research has predicted.

Research carried out by economists at the University of Warwick looked at the Royal Borough’s energy bills and how these are likely to change.

The average household may see increases in energy bills of £1,297 per year, even with the existing government support in place through the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG).

Without this average energy bills would increase by as much as £2,214.

This may take out a combined £63million from residents in Windsor and Maidenhead.

Even households who consume very little energy – typically the poorest, with incomes of less than £15,000 per year – are expected to see a steep increase in their energy bills in the Borough.

Households in the bottom 10 per cent of energy consumption are projected to see an increase in bills of £635 despite support brought in by the Government.

Many households, especially middle income, may be ‘caught off-guard by this drastic increase in energy bills,’ the researchers said.

This is because many households simply do not realise how much energy they consume.

One of the main reasons why Windsor and Maidenhead will be so affected by the energy crisis is because of ‘decades of underinvestment’ in buildings.

The researchers estimate that retrofitting at least 41 per cent of building stock could contribute permanently to saving energy.

Residents could save at least 28 per cent energy. The financial savings could be as high as £42million per year.

The researchers believe that prior to now, it did not make economic sense to invest in improving the energy efficiency in buildings

– energy used to be cheap enough that ‘it didn’t make a huge difference for households to save energy.’

Moreover, before the Ukraine war, energy bills between highest and lowest earners were only on average 2.5 times higher.

“It is our view that the increase in energy prices will be permanent,” the researchers wrote. “It is unlikely that energy will become as cheap as it was before the war.”

This is partly due to the need to reduce carbon footprints, which will ‘elevate energy prices through carbon taxation.’

As such, savings in CO2 could help a great deal. The researchers estimate that the building stock in Windsor and Maidenhead could save at least 66,000 tons of CO2 per year, worth £5.1million.

The researchers say this saves far more money in the long run than price caps – as the caps must be funded by cuts or increased tax later down the line.

The most common and effective measures to improve the energy efficiency of properties are: cavity wall insulation; solid wall insulation; floor, roof and loft insulation, and condensing boiler replacements.

Researchers estimate that around 16,400 properties in Windsor and Maidenhead would benefit from improved wall insulation such as solid or cavity wall insulation.

Further, 8,400 properties would benefit from roof or loft insulation, while 18,870 properties could benefit from floor insulation.

There are around 10,080 properties that could benefit from condensing boiler upgrades.

The university researchers made the following suggestions for the council:

W Refer households to large energy suppliers for retrofits under the ECO Flexible Eligibility scheme

W Help people navigate the retrofitting process with simple permitting procedures, lists of contractors, and schemes to support training of new contractors

W Secure funding to retrofit social housing through BEIS-backed Social Housing Retrofit Accelerator

W Identify energy savings potential in buildings that managed by the council or the social rented sector

W Encourage private and social rented providers similar incentives.

The council says it has committed to working with landlords and registered providers to retrofit existing stock with zero carbon technologies, particularly with the least sustainable homes.

The Borough has also secured £1.3million from the Sustainable Warmth scheme to help support low-income families improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

Those eligible can apply to receive the free upgrades until December 31 at www.berkshire-applications.co.uk