Making new energy work for everyone
E.ON UK Chief Executive Chris Norbury outlines the potential of changing energy from being a significant cause of poverty to something not only affordable but which can become a lever to help lift people out of poverty.
Speaking at Reuters News Agency Energy Transition Europe 2024 event in London, I highlighted how the energy transition has the potential to ensure we change energy from being a significant cause of poverty to something that is not just affordable to all, but a lever to actually help lift people out of poverty.
Our E.ON Next pilot scheme in Coventry demonstrates aspects of this potential new approach: addressing immediate needs by writing off debt for vulnerable customers, while simultaneously tackling long-term affordability.
As well as resetting things financially we're installing batteries and other energy solutions, providing energy-efficient appliances and improving insulation - measures that reduce energy consumption and costs for years to come. This combination of short-term relief and long-term solutions directly addresses the root causes of energy unaffordability.
Imagine scaling this nationally. We could transform people's relationship with energy, addressing affordability not just once, but permanently.
For suitable homes, which will be the vast majority, we could redirect existing funding sources away from short-term sticking plasters to a new subscription approach. In our project we’re showing that by providing a free battery up front, the subsequent annual subscription matches the £150 Warm Home Discount payment but delivers benefits and savings year after year far in excess of that amount - we’re estimating more than £250 each year. For others, where their home isn’t immediately suitable for improvements the support payments would continue alongside lighter interventions.
The key is to combine immediate action with long-term measures to break the cycle of high energy bills, and by adding further innovations in the future such as simple energy trading for the stored battery power we can unlock financial gain for customers (something our partner Amber Electric is already doing for its customers in Australia). In this energy world it’s not about energy unaffordability, it’s about household profitability.