Energy Company Obligation (ECO)

What is ECO4?

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is a government energy efficiency scheme.

It aims to help reduce carbon emissions and tackle fuel poverty by improving the energy efficiency of homes occupied by low income, fuel poor and vulnerable households.

Obligated energy suppliers must promote measures that improve the ability of low-income, fuel-poor and vulnerable households to heat their homes.

This includes the installation of measures to reduce energy usage, such as:

• wall insulation
• loft insulation
• solar panels
• air source heat pumps
• boiler upgrades

The ECO scheme is administered by Ofgem.

Who funds ECO4?

ECO is funded by the energy supply companies (not the Council) and delivered by private installer firms.

Installers must be TrustMark accredited and work to PAS 2035 guidelines (a government-approved quality standard for the retrofit and energy efficiency sector).

What measures are available?

Your chosen installer will carry out a survey and identify a package of improvements suitable for your property and will make the necessary arrangements for the installation of the energy efficiency measures.  

If eligible, you could qualify for any of the improvements listed below. This is not the full list and other improvements might be available depending on the installer.

• loft insulation
• pitched roof insulation
• flat roof insulation
• room in roof insulation
• cavity wall insulation
• external wall insulation
• internal wall insulation
• floor insulation (solid or suspended floors)
• air source heat pumps
• ground source heat pumps
• gas boilers
• electric boilers
• biomass boilers
• heating controls
• electric storage heaters
• solar PV panels
• high performance external doors
• window glazing
• draught proofing

Am I eligible?

Eligibility is dependent upon income and the energy performance rating of the home.

ECO funding is only available for private owner occupiers whose property has an energy performance rating of D, E, F or G and private rented tenants whose property has an energy performance rating of E, F or G.

If you rent from a private landlord you will require the Landlords permission to do any work.

You can check your home's rating online via the government's energy performance certificate register. If your property does not currently have a rating, that can be assessed by the installer as part of the application process.

There are two ways in which you may qualify for ECO funding:

ECO4 - (Affordable Warmth Criteria)

ECO4 - (Affordable Warmth Criteria) is for households who are in receipt of certain means-tested benefits, and evidence of these benefits would confirm your eligibility. 

You may be eligible for ECO4 funding if you are receiving at least one of the following benefits and satisfy the relevant income requirements, where applicable:

• 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

Where applying through Affordable Warmth criteria your chosen installer or supplier will advise on seeking evidence for eligible benefits being claimed within the household.

If a member of the household is in receipt of one of the Affordable Warmth benefits listed above, you will need to apply directly with your preferred installer or supplier.

ECO4 Flex

ECO4 Flex is for households who have been identified as low-income, vulnerable or fuel-poor. Participating Local Authorities publish a 'Statement of Intent' which details the criteria for this.

You may be eligible for ECO4 Flex if you meet one of these criteria:

• your household has an annual income of less than £31,000 (before tax)
• a person in your household has a severe or long-term health condition that is adversely affected by living in a cold home, and is due to a cardiovascular condition, a respiratory disease, limited mobility or immunosuppression

There are also other ECO flex criteria that can be used to identify eligible low-income, vulnerable and fuel-poor households. Full details of the eligibility routes can be found on the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Councils ECO4 Statement of Intent (PDF, 120 KB).

Previous versions of the statement of Intent can be accessed, by contacting energy@stockton.gov.uk. 

Residents cannot send ECO4 Flex application forms directly to us, as we will only accept ECO4 Flex applications from the household's chosen registered installer.

The registered installer will then submit to the Council a householder application form and supporting evidence, such as proof of income, proof of address etc for determining eligibility for the ECO4 Flex scheme.

Once the Council has confirmed eligibility, we will send a written declaration to the installer advising them that the household qualifies for the ECO4 flex scheme.

Installers

We cannot recommend an installer or endorse the quality of their workmanship. We recommend that you conduct your own research when deciding which installer to use.

Any agreement to install energy efficiency measures in your home will be between yourself and the installer. 

Installers will be able to provide you with further information on the range of energy efficiency improvements they specialise in. Most companies have a website where you can find out more about them and how to contact them directly. If you choose to engage with an installer, we recommend you check they are TrustMark registered.

We have provided details of installers who are registered with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council these registered installers have been verified as holding the correct certifications, accreditations, and insurances.

Once you have chosen your installer, we recommend you request to see their company ID when they visit your property. Make sure they leave you with their contact details in case you want to check on the status of your application after they leave because we will not have access to this information.

We will only accept ECO4 Flex applications from the Registered Installer companies listed. These installer companies are not contracted by us and neither do they work on our behalf. 

What is the Council's role?

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's role is to assess the eligibility of households that installers have nominated for energy efficiency measures through the ECO4 Flex route. We are not involved in, or responsible for, issuing the funding, appointing contractors or installing the works.

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council will verify eligibility for ECO4 Flex applications from registered installers only and provide declarations to the installer and to Ofgem.

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council cannot accept applications directly from residents.

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council will have no involvement in 'standard' ECO4 applications.

What else you need to check?

It is your responsibility to carry out the following checks:

• do you need planning permission or building regulations approval: certain types of insulation such as external wall insulation might need planning permission and building regulations approval and as a homeowner or landlord it will be your responsibility to apply for this
• find out if the installer is a member of a competent person scheme related to electrics or insulation work, like the MCS, NICEIC, Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA) or Stroma schemes, if they are then they will be able to self-certify their work, rather than needing to get building regulations approval from your local council
• make sure they are gas safe registered, by law all engineers installing gas boilers must be on the Gas Safe Register
• check if they provide any guarantees or warranties on the installation and make sure you are provided with these and any other associated paperwork upon completion of an install

What happens next?

The installer will decide what level of support and type of improvements you could receive.

A signed ECO Flex declaration from the Council does not guarantee the installation of any improvements, as the final decision considers the suitability of the improvement for your house and if the improvements will increase your homes level of energy efficiency or not.

What if I am not happy with the installation?

Any complaints or issues regarding the ECO4 scheme in the first instance should be referred back to the ECO4 installer company which has carried out the works at the property. The ECO4 installer company has a standard complaints procedure which they must follow to address any complaints.

If you feel that your complaint has not been dealt with sufficiently by your chosen ECO4 installer.

You can also contact Citizens Advice Consumer Services for free impartial advice.

Ofgem also has a webpage outlining steps that may help you resolve complaints about an energy efficiency measure installed under ECO4 Flex in your home.

Visit the Ofgem ECO complaints process webpage for more information.

Installer enquiries

Please note that onboarding for new installers is currently closed. For any installer enquiries, please email the Environment Team at energy@stockton.gov.uk.