AQW 3350/22-27

Mr Eóin Tennyson
Alliance Party
Upper Bann

Tabled Date: 21/09/2022
Answered On Date: 19/10/2022
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy what level of funding has been identified for the Domestic Energy Efficiency Pilot included in the Energy Strategy Action Plan.

Answer:

Within the Northern Ireland Energy Strategy, The Path to Net Zero Energy, which was endorsed by the Executive Committee, there is a commitment to deliver an energy efficiency pilot in 2022. In the scoping and development of this initial pilot it has become clear that more urgent action, with much more ambition in terms of scale of intervention, is needed to support people across Northern Ireland. This situation has of course been exacerbated by the current global energy price crisis.

With that in mind, my officials are now scoping the development of a multi-year Energy Efficiency Flagship Intervention Programme that will scale up quickly to deliver the volume of retrofits required to both meet our net zero commitments and tackle the cost-of-living crisis. While our initial focus will be on the most vulnerable and the worst performing homes, the programme will then broaden out to take in all homes in Northern Ireland and determine appropriate levels of funding required to ensure this happens.

The launch of this flagship will also be a signal for the energy efficiency industry to invest in people and their skills, which in turn will stimulate local economic growth.