Industry bodies, UKIFDA and OFTEC, mark the anniversary of the Energy Act 2023 – “The Government must deliver on promises made to rural communities.”
On 26th October 2023, the Energy Act received Royal Assent and became an official act of parliament. Within the Act, Section 159 contains legislation that, if invoked by the Secretary of State for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), would create the renewable liquid heating fuel obligation and pave the way for the introduction of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and other renewable fuels for home heating.
This piece of legislation is very similar to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation created by the last Labour government in 2005 and was introduced with the promise of a consultation on the technical details in a few months and certainly within one year. The legislation received cross-party support in Parliament, including from the Labour Party, which now forms the new government.
While acknowledging that there is a new government, rural off-the-gas-grid households and businesses were effectively promised a consultation within a year, but so far, the consultation has not been forthcoming. To highlight this oversight, a new Future Ready Fuel campaign has been launched for the Energy Act’s first anniversary. The campaign calls for the legislation to be invoked as soon as possible and for the consultation to be undertaken. In support, UKIFDA distributors, OFTEC registered technicians and home heating oil consumers are asked to share this message with their local MP.
Ken Cronin, CEO of UKIFDA, stated, “We know HVO is a viable solution. As part of a nationwide demonstration project, around 150 properties, including homes, schools, churches, and village pubs, were converted from kerosene to HVO. It’s been an overwhelming success. Carbon emissions were reduced by 88%, and the conversion only required a small, low-cost modification to the boiler, which only took a few hours.
“For rural off-grid households who can’t afford a heat pump or would need to undertake significant disruptive changes to their property for the technology to work effectively, HVO is an ideal alternative. Our survey of oil-heated households has shown over 90% support for this approach. Fundamentally, it’s about giving consumers a choice. We all want to play our part and transition to low-carbon heating, but the options available must be affordable and practical.”
For more information and to support the campaign, visit www.futurereadyfuel.info.
25th October 2024
