Energy on Subscription can help everyone play a part in the net zero transition

A considerable majority of people in the UK support the country’s net zero efforts, but not everyone has the same opportunity to play a part.

Many customers may struggle to find the time or money to invest in sustainability measures for their homes, and while this has an adverse impact on the UK’s overall sustainability efforts, it also compounds these customers’ financial difficulties. 

Demonstrating the significant improvement that energy efficiency measures can make, modeling reported in the Guardian newspaper has shown that “people living in a typical three-bedroom, semi-detached newly built house would save an average of £1,341 a year if it was equipped with solar panels, a heat pump, high-grade insulation and battery storage.” 

As a best-case scenario, this saving would be nearly nine times the £150 that vulnerable customers, for example, receive each year as part of the Warm Home Discount, but they are likely to miss out as they cannot afford the cost of upgrading their home in the first place. 

Fortunately, there is a model that gives customers access to state-of-the-art sustainable technologies while offering good value to consumers on their energy bills, suppliers in their efforts to help those in need, and the Government in making the best investments for net zero. We call it: Energy on Subscription. 

How Energy on Subscription works 

Energy on Subscription is a way for energy suppliers to make the alternative heat and energy solutions that are essential to the UK’s net zero transition available to everyone, no matter their financial situation. 

The concept is straightforward: We, the energy supplier, cover the upfront installation costs of upgrading a home with sustainable devices such as a heat pump, solar PV, and battery storage, all of which could save hundreds of pounds on a customer’s annual energy bill. The customer then covers the initial installation cost via an affordable monthly subscription fee that can be spread over many years depending on how much they can afford each month.  Our vision is for the cost of the monthly subscription to be paid out of ongoing energy bill savings delivered via smarter tariffs, which will help unlock this potential for the mass market. 

Delivering this outcome will help support households across the UK to upgrade their homes, benefit from cheaper, greener heat and electricity, and save on their monthly bills all while playing their part in the net zero transition. 

Energy on Subscription could also provide a more efficient way for suppliers and the Government to combat fuel poverty and help those in need. To use battery storage as just one example, in combination with a Time-of-Use tariff, a domestic battery that costs roughly £3,000 to install could save the average UK household between £250 and £300 annually. This would save up to £6,000 over the battery’s 20-year lifespan, which is roughly double the amount that would be spent on the existing £150-a-year Warm Home Discount over the same period. 

Making Energy on Subscription a reality

Whether in terms of consumers’ energy bills, Government and suppliers’ efforts to support vulnerable customers, or the UK’s contribution to global decarbonisation efforts, Energy on Subscription can have a positive impact across the board, and we would like to see it become a part of the UK’s arsenal against climate change and energy insecurity in the years to come. 

To make that happen, we would encourage and support the Government in creating new financing opportunities for green innovations such as Energy on Subscription by offering green financing grants and guarantees to lenders, which would enable banks to offer lower interest rates on sustainable loans. The UK could also facilitate this type of innovation by updating the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) to permit third party ownership of equipment such as heat pumps. This would allow suppliers to install and maintain the devices on behalf of customers in the first instance, letting them enjoy cleaner power and lower bills right away and at no upfront cost. 

Whatever the approach, we are always ready to work with the Government on supporting innovation in the energy sector, because we know it’s on us to deliver on our shared priorities: helping vulnerable people meet their energy needs, and ensuring that the UK reaches net zero.