I've re-read this twice looking for the inevitable get-out clause, but am unable to find one - it really does look like a genuine something for nothing offer ........ providing you are over 70 years of age (or on certain benefits).
As reported in the The Guardian (article is dated Saturday 12th although it is not yet 17:00 on the 11th Jan?), British Gas are offering free loft and cavity wall insulation [worth an average £600 per house] to anyone over the age of 70, and you don't even have to be a customer of British Gas! It appears to be a subset of the government's CERT {Carbon Emissions Reduction Target} scheme which "obliges energy suppliers to promote reductions in carbon emissions for households. The companies are required to spend £1.5bn over the next three years to install energy efficiency measures in the homes of people on low incomes and the elderly."
For once I'm almost lost for words .... a genuine case of something for nothing!
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Addendum:
Actually there IS a teeny-weeny little catch in there - the rest of us will pay for it! I quote - "Ofgem, the energy regulator .............. said this week that around £38 is being added to each household's gas and electricity's (I assume they meant to include 'bills' here) to pay for the Cert scheme."
At least it's a start, and given that £1 in every £3 spent on heating homes is lost because of inadequate insulation, it will have quite an impact on household CO2 emissions, at least for the over 70's.
1 comment:
Well, it is what we've been advocating as a priority for a while.
That said, it seems a bit of a cheek to load it on without being VERY clear about who gets the credit... and funds the debit. Us!
And that number seems both high and very fixed. Not a % of usage?
That said, there's this quaint notion around that so many things are paid for by mysterious 'not me' entities, such as the government, without connecting that we all pay in the end.
There is never something for nothing. Just redistribution. As the Peter who has always seemed to have funded Paul, I know!
Cautious approval. If not from the bank manager of this household. Mum's cottage is already lagged to the nth degree on my shilling.
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