The UK Government today publishes its Energy Bill, which lays out the details of how the proposed Green Deal will work to make energy efficiency available to all. The bill confirms that businesses as well as homes will be able to participate in the Green Deal, when it starts in 2012.

Those participating in the Green Deal will be able to undertake energy efficiency measures without upfront costs. Instead the cost of the improvements will be paid back through a charge on their energy bills.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne also announced a raft of rules designed to protect consumers taking part in the Green Deal from rogue traders.

“Consumer protection will be built into the Green Deal from the word go. Accreditation, a quality mark, insurance-backed warranties – there’ll be no place for cowboys to get a foothold in the Green Deal,” he said. The protection measures will ensure that customers receive accredited advice on how to improve the energy efficiency of their property.

Only accredited installers working for a reputable company will be able to undertake Green Deal measures and insurance-backed warranties will cover consumers if the advice or work is at fault. The Energy Bill also confirms that the payback charges will be linked to a property, rather than the occupier, so when you move house the Green Deal charge will be left behind for the next owner.

The legislation will also give powers to the Secretary of State to bring in future regulations to ensure that private landlords make “reasonable” improvements to the energy efficiency of their properties.

There will also be a new Energy Company Obligation on suppliers to help the most vulnerable low-income households and, if a voluntary agreement cannot be reached, measures to ensure energy companies provide their customers with information on their lowest tariffs.

Although most of the Energy Bill is devoted to the Green Deal, it also contains measures to boost investment in offshore electricity transmission to ensure that new wind farms can connect to the grid. The legislation will also aim to strengthen monitoring of future energy security and market incentive mechanisms to ensure a sufficient gas supply.

The details of the legislation has been largely welcomed across the board, but a number of organisations including the Government-backed Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) and business lobby group the CBI warn that the task of improving the energy efficiency of the country’s housing stock is extremely challenging.

“The Department of Energy and Climate Change [suggests] that we need to be delivering a comprehensive package of measures at a rate of 1.8 million per year by 2020 in order to get the entire housing stock operating more efficiently by 2030 in order to meet our targets. That’s nearly a city the size of Cambridge each and every week,” points out ETI chief executive David Clarke.

Rhian Kelly of the CBI adds that the Government will need to address financing and uptake to stimulate interest among consumers and businesses. “To appeal to people the Green Deal needs to be simple and exciting, as well as credible,” she says.

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