WELCOME TO NEA NORTHERN IRELAND

NEA is the national energy action charity working in Northern Ireland to eradicate fuel poverty through campaigning, information, training, education and demonstration of good practice.  NEA has been working in Northern Ireland for over ten years and has built up expertise around all aspects of the causes, consequences, nature and extent of fuel poverty across Northern Ireland. 

Achievements

• Led a successful campaign resulting in the development of a fuel poverty strategy for Northern Ireland (published by DSD November 2004) including design and delivery of a series of consultative events and focus groups to facilitate the public, particularly those affected by fuel poverty, in responding to the consultation document;
  
  
• Led the development of fuel poverty strategies for Northern and Eastern Health and Social Services Boards in partnership with multi-sectoral Investing for Health Partnerships including consultative events and employing a consensual approach to forming the strategies;
  
  
• Co-chaired a multi-sectoral partnership in development of a Fuel Poverty Action Plan for South and East Belfast and Castlereagh and the development and delivery of two follow-up projects tackling fuel poverty amongst older people and families with children in the area;
  
  
• Delivery of a number of projects illustrating the benefits of energy efficiency measures, tailored advice, face-to-face with the client in their own home and in assisting clients to access existing schemes and projects; these projects have targeted a variety of client groups including lone parents and their children, older people and families with children;
  
  
• Design and delivery of a series of seminars to community groups within Northern Neighbourhood Health Action Zone to raise awareness of fuel poverty and facilitate the communities to start tackling fuel poverty;
  
  
• Worked with the Health Promotion Agency to design a fuel poverty toolkit for use by health service personnel, design and delivery of sessions to raise awareness amongst staff and encourage use of the toolkit;
  
  
• Key partner in the Armagh and Dungannon Health Action Zone’s ‘Home is Where the Heat Is’ project in Darkley and Aughnacloy investigating the health impact of warm homes including a lead role in evaluating the impact of the project;
  
  
• Commended by the Enterprise, Trade and Investment Committee for analysis and recommendations for energy policy in Northern Ireland during the 2001/02 NI Assembly Energy Inquiry;
  
  
• An evaluation of the effectiveness of DSD’s Warm Homes Scheme in tackling fuel poverty involving research with 500 recipients before and after receiving energy efficiency measures;
  
  
• Design and delivery of a scoping study of fuel poverty in inner north Belfast, investigating current resources and infrastructure to assist in tackling fuel poverty and qualitative research to ascertain community needs regarding keeping warm; this information has been used to form an action plan to tackle fuel poverty in some of Northern Ireland’s most disadvantaged communities including the delivery of a project using a community development approach to raise awareness of the problem and build community capacity to address cold homes;
  
  
• Delivered energy awareness training to over 350 students and conducting examinations for over 700 candidates from private, public, community and voluntary organisations for the NEA/City & Guilds energy awareness 6176 qualification;
  
  
• The Northern Ireland Energy Advice Forum is held twice annually and provides an opportunity for participants to keep up to date with current energy efficiency developments across a wide variety of topics and speakers.  The Forum also provides networking opportunities with good representation from the energy advice sector across Northern Ireland.

Reviewed: 12/07/2006