Energy News

Scotland reintroduces boiler scrappage scheme

Thursday 16 February, 2012

By Martin Fagan

Scottish government is offing a further 1,200 vouchers worth £400 towards replacing inefficient boilers.

The Scottish Government has announced extra funding for the boiler scrappage scheme for owner occupiers in Scotland.

The Scottish government’s cabinet secretary Alex Neil announced a further £500,000 would be available to households switching from poor-performing boilers to a more energy-efficient model. Up to 1,200 households could each receive a £400 voucher towards the cost of installing a new boiler.

The new money is only available to households in Scotland, as it has always run its own boiler scrappage incentives independent of the scheme offered in England and Wales. The new allocation of vouchers is on a “first come, first served” basis.

The scheme in England and Wales started in January 2010 and ended in March 2010, distributing 125,000 vouchers of £400 each. The Scottish scheme has been more gradual, with 5,000 vouchers offered in May 2010 and a further 12,000 vouchers since June 2011.

The new money for Scotland arises from the controversial Barnett Formula, a mechanism used by the Treasury to adjust the amounts of public expenditure allocated to the regions of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. At the introduction of the formula in 1978, Scotland benefited from higher expenditure per head, a situation that still exists to this day.

“We are committed to eradicating fuel poverty and reducing household carbon emissions,” said Alex Neil.

“One important change people can make is to install energy-efficient boilers. Over the last year, we have invested £4million to incentivise households to replace inefficient boilers. With a more efficient boiler, each household could make savings of up to £300 per year on their fuel bills.”

The boiler scrappage scheme is managed by the Energy Saving Trust and delivered through the network of local Energy Saving Scotland advice centres. Anyone interested should call Home Energy Scotland on 0800 512 012, or visit the Energy Saving Trust website.

According to the Energy Saving Trust, there are currently an estimated 250,000 homes in Scotland that have boilers of the least efficient type (efficiency of less than 70%).

As well as the £400 voucher, the energy industry is also offering incentives. For instance, Vaillant is offering an additional £100 cash back on any Vaillant boiler purchased under the Scottish Boiler Scrappage Scheme.