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A press notice, released today by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) sets out the next stage of the Green Deal.

Four major steps were published today by the DECC outlining new measures to be put in place over the Green Deal, the governments long awaited initiative, to help bring Britain’s housing stock up to energy efficient specifications, via a series of loans, paid back by the consumer through their energy bills.

 

• £7m loan to The Green Deal Finance Company to help ensure it is ready to offer finance to Green Deal Providers in early 2013.
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• HM Treasury announces that Green Deal will be an early candidate for the use of infrastructure guarantees.
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• Green Deal registration opens today allowing organisations to begin the Green Deal authorisation. process.
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• The new Green Deal Quality Mark will show who is authorised and protect consumers.
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The £7m loan from the DECC to The Green Deal Finance Company (TGDFC) was agreed today and this will allow the TGDFC to continue developing its offer of low cost finance to be made available in early 2013. Green Deal Providers will be able to access finance through TGDFC, allowing them to offer low cost finance packages to consumers upgrading their homes under the Green Deal.

 

Furthermore, from today, the register for Green Deal Providers, Assessors and Installers will also open. The register will give the seal of approval to businesses that successfully complete the Green Deal authorisation process.

 

It is now necessary for all authorised Green Deal Providers, Assessors and Installers to display the new Green Deal Quality Mark, demonstrating their compliance with the required Green Deal standards. This is essential for protecting customers from any unscrupulous traders. This happened with fake Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) issues back in 2011 and now all EPC Assessors have to be registered and the EPC, whether commercial or domestic must have a valid code number to prevent this occurrence happening again. Therefore, only registered and authorised businesses will be able to use this new Green Deal Quality Mark.

 

Greg Barker, the Energy and Climate Change Minister said:

 

” I’m delighted to announce a number of important developments for the Green Deal today. The opening of the Green Deal register will enable businesses to start becoming Green Deal authorised and the Green Deal Quality Mark will show they have met our standards. Crucially, this will protect consumers, who will know that anyone displaying the Quality Mark has been through the required process to become authorised.”

 

“The loan we have agreed with The Green Deal Finance Company will help them to undertake essential development and be ready to offer finance to Green Deal Providers in early 2013.”

 

For those businesses that want to become Green Deal Providers, it is possible now to apply directly online to become authorised. Furthermore, accredited certification bodies will be able to submit the details of Assessors and Installers to be authorised.

 

There is new guidance now on the DECC website that explains the requirements for achieving a Green Deal Quality Mark in order to become an authorised Provider, complementing existing guidance on how to become an authorised Assessor or Installer.

 

So there are plenty of measures in place to ensure that the right people will be doing the right job. While this is comforting, news from a recent report by You Gov for electrical company Rexel, that shows 81% of Brits who received energy bills are clueless as to how much money they are spending each year on energy, is less than encouraging. Without increased public awareness, it will not matter how safe the Green Deal is for consumers if they are still unaware that they are losing money as a result of bad energy practices and out of date, inefficient equipment.