The Greater London Authority (GLA) has launched a new ECO4 Flex service, which for the first time will cover the whole of Greater London through a single-entry point, enabling eligible residents to benefit from grant funded works across all 33 London boroughs and opening up a significant opportunity for installers to gain access to the capital’s 2.8 million private sector homes.
The GLA has selected HeatFlex to manage the new ECO4 Flex service. HeatFlex, a new service from energy saving experts Happy Energy Solutions Ltd, provides an end-to-end ECO Flex solution, which local authorities across Britain can benefit from using completely free of charge, with the service being funded by fees from the network of participating HeatFlex installers.
Unlike ECO3, ECO4 Flex legislation has increased responsibilities on local authorities to gather and retain eligibility evidence, with an obligation to provide energy suppliers with copies of documents as part of annual audits and an Ofgem requirement to retain the evidence for audit purposes until as late as 2030. These new obligations have added a significant resource requirement onto local authority energy officers, which, coupled with complications around data sharing, have led to some local authorities opting out of ECO Flex altogether.
The HeatFlex online system simplifies the delivery of ECO4 Flex, whilst ensuring that the local authority officer retains complete control over the approval process for both the resident eligibility and the installer selection. Once the HeatFlex compliance team have checked and confirmed that resident is eligible, which includes a range of anti-fraud checks, the officer is notified electronically and is then able to view all evidence through a secure Sharepoint directory in Microsoft Teams. When they have satisfied themselves that the household is eligible, a one-click approval button automatically populates the notification spreadsheet and Flex declaration, with the spreadsheet being emailed to Ofgem and the declaration being sent to the officer to sign via an e-signature system, with the final sign off and notification process being completed in under a minute.
Adrian Wright, CEO of Happy Energy said “Having worked in partnership with local authorities for over 25 years through the Heat Project energy saving one-stop-shop, we are always looking for ways to make it easier for energy officers to deliver fuel poverty and carbon reduction programmes. HeatFlex is ideal for local authorities who want to give their residents access to ECO4 and ECO+, but who either do not have the resources to deliver this in house, or where the risks of doing so are deemed too great. The service is also available for use under HUG, to assist local authorities with income verification and contractor management where needed.
County councils who are trying to find ways to achieve their net zero ambitions are also being urged to sign up to HeatFlex. Following the lead of the GLA, they can instantly offer local residents access to Flex over a wide area, reducing the burden on the district authorities, helping their local installers to access £5 billion of grant funding and receiving annual reports on energy bill and CO2 savings made through the scheme, with data available from district, down to LSOA and ward level. Happy Energy can also offer the free Heat Project service, which offers an energy saving one-stop-shop for residents, with direct access to grants, upgrade works and with co-branded fully funded marketing funded campaigns. The Heat Project can also be used as a conduit for managing spend of any wider grant funding available within the council, such as HUG, Better Care Fund or carbon offset. Local authorities and county councils wanting to find out more about the HeatFlex service can go to www.heatflex.org.uk
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