Heat pump subsidy limit 'would be slap in the face'

THE UK Government would be taking "a sledgehammer" to the heat sector by restricting subsidies for eco-friendly heat pumps, energy industry experts and green groups have warned.

- REBECCA SPEARE-COLE

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly planning to announce a series of measures that could mean hundreds of thousands of homeowners lose their right to financial support for these clean heating systems.

Under its boiler upgrade scheme, the UK Government currently offers grants of up to £7,500 in England for householders to install heat pumps, which are more expensive than gas boilers but use electricity to transfer thermal heat from the outside air into home heating.

However, according to the Guardian, sources briefed on the Budget said Ms Reeves will take energy-efficiency levies off bills and then fund them through the existing warm homes plan.

This means that heat pump subsidies would be restricted only to a select group of low-income homes and it would likely lead to a reduction in the amount of funding for home insulation, the publication said.

The move would aim to bring down energy bills at a time when the UK Government is said to be concerned that the cost-of-living crisis is pushing voters towards Reform UK.