British Gas on Thursday 19th of April, launched a green business arm to drive its offer of low carbon products for customers who want to reduce their carbon footprints.
British Gas New Energy will advise homes and businesses on how to become greener and provide the necessary products and services.
Around 25% of the UK’s CO2 emissions come from homes, and a combination of increased environmental awareness and rising energy prices has lead many householders to try to make their properties more energy efficient.
The new business, headed up by Gear³id Lane, will look to tap into what it believes could become a multi-billion pound market in years to come.
On top of the energy saving reports and insulation-fitting services already on offer, British Gas’s 12 million domestic customers will be able to buy solar panels to heat water in their homes, and have them fitted for around £4,300.
A partnership with six local authorities means customers living in some areas of the country, including Salford and Taunton, will qualify for a one-off reduction of £300 off their council tax bill if they have the panels installed.
Photovoltaic solar panels that produce electricity can also be bought and installed for around £11,000.
British Gas has also trained 500 of its engineers to put together the new energy performance certificates, which from June 1 will have to be provided by anyone selling a property as part of a home information pack.
Andrew Turpin, a spokesman for British Gas, said: “We think that given the market is going to be starting from a standstill and we have got a workforce that is already familiar with looking at the energy efficiency of homes, it made sense for us to train some of them to put together the certificates.”
He said that while some in the industry estimated that homeowners would pay around £100 for a certificate, the company had not yet decided how to price its offering.
Mr Turpin added that the company was also looking to expand in the boiler market, which it estimates could soon be worth between £3.5bn-£4bn a year. It currently installs approximately 100,000 A-rated boilers a year, around 7% of the market.
Green focus
Keen to boost its green credentials. British Gas already claims that in supplying customers with gas and electricity last year it emitted less CO2 per customer than other major UK electricity providers.
The company contributes £100m a year to the government’s energy efficiency commitment, under which energy suppliers invest in programmes to make people’s homes more energy efficient, for example by funding council tax rebates for households who install insulation.
It also said it had given 1.5 million customers advice on energy efficiency through its energy saving report scheme.
Geoff Slaughter, energy product manager at price comparison website uSwitch.com, said he hoped other energy providers would follow British Gas’s lead.
“The message coming through from consumers is absolutely clear – they are ready, willing and able to do their bit to help tackle climate change, but are sorely in need of a helping hand from suppliers,” he said.
“By establishing a new business to drive this, British Gas is flexing its green muscles and showing that it is taking this issue seriously.”
However, he said the industry needed to do more to educate customers about green energy and boost take-up of green tariffs, which currently only 1% consumers were on.
Hilary Osborne
Guardian Unlimited