The Energy Company Obligation

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) provides heat pump grants for retrofit energy efficiency schemes featuring ground source and air source heat pumps. Under the ECO, larger energy suppliers are legally obliged to fund energy efficiency measures in British households.

Who is the ECO for?

ECO supports retrofit efficiency projects. Such projects include heating replacements in the domestic sector, with a particular focus on vulnerable consumer groups and hard-to-treat homes. This might be properties with limited or no access to mains gas, or homes where energy efficiency is expensive.

Under the rules of ECO, energy suppliers are obliged to fund energy efficiency improvements of their domestic customers’ buildings through ECO4.  

ECO4

The government’s response to ECO4 consultation sets out the policy of the scheme from April 2022 until March 2026. Please click on the link below to find out more about ECO4.

Find out more information on ECO4

Who can benefit from ECO4?

In order to benefit from ECO4 your property will need to require energy efficiency upgrades. The specific measures that would benefit your home would be determined by a retrofit assessment. You must own your own home or have permission from your landlord, including if the property is owned by a social housing provider or management company.

You can contact any of the obligated energy suppliers to find out how they may be able to help you benefit from the ECO scheme, even if they are not your energy provider.

Who is eligible?

You could be eligible for ECO if you receive at least one of the following benefits:

• Child Benefit
• Pension Guarantee Credit
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
• Income Support
• Tax Credits (Child Tax Credits and Working Tax Credits)
• Universal Credit
• Housing benefit
• Pension credit saving credit

Local authorities are also able to refer residents in their areas to obligated energy suppliers so that they can be offered support under the ECO Flex.

Energy suppliers can also refer households under ECO4 Flex where they are either struggling with persistent fuel debt and are supported by suppliers or are using pre-payment meters and have regularly been unable to stay connected to their fuel supplies due to financial hardship.

It is important to note that eligibility for ECO doesn’t necessarily mean that an energy supplier or installer will decide to install energy efficiency measures in your home.

Find out if you are eligible here