NEA Northern Ireland has made some comments around the objectives in the draft Forward Work Programme and believe that the projects identified in the document are the right ones and have no queries regarding same. We have made some suggestions, which we hope are helpful on priority projects, which we feel may enhance the Forward Work Programme 2020–21.

NEA has a long-standing interest in smart meters and their roll-out in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, particularly with regard to their impact on vulnerable consumers. NEA believes that smart metering has the potential to provide real benefits for vulnerable and low-income householders, but only if these individuals are effectively engaged and supported throughout their smart meter journey.

NEA Cymru welcomes the opportunity to respond to the committees inquiry in to fuel poverty and would like to thank the Committee for focusing on this important issue.

Each winter across the UK, on average, at least 11,400 people die due to a cold home. During the “Beast from the East” in the winter 2017/18, people were ten times more likely to die from living in a cold house than a road accident. As well as the direct devastating impacts of a cold home, the resulting loss in productivity and cold-related ill health causes significant health and social care costs, queues at GP surgeries and emergency departments and delays the discharge of the most vulnerable patients from hospital.

The challenge for most charities is to do remarkable things in testing circumstances. That is certainly true for NEA and the results can be seen in this report.

Decarbonising the UK economy to meet the Government’s world-leading Net Zero greenhouse gas commitment by 2050, represents both an unprecedented challenge and an unrivalled opportunity for innovation and investment. The imperative of net zero emissions, as attested by the latest science and now set out in legislation, will require the continued transition of the power sector and also the rapid decarbonisation of manufacturing, transport, agriculture and buildings.

NEA has championed the need for the breadth of the energy industry to help fund and facilitate energy efficiency improvements. In particular, we believe obligated energy suppliers must uphold their ECO obligations and when delivering this vital assistance (either themselves or via their contractors), treat their customers fairly and respond to the enhanced needs of those in vulnerable situations.

NEA worked with Macmillan Cancer Support to identify vulnerable households at risk of fuel poverty, living in a cold home and experiencing ill health. The fund supported the provision of energy efficiency and heating measures to householders identified as ‘in need’.

The proposals made in this consultation will undoubtedly have a material affect on the number of customers that self-disconnect and self-ration. They are broadly in line with a number of suggestions that NEA made within our response to the preceding “Prepayment Self-Disconnection and Self-Rationing: A Call for Evidence”.