Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne has warned the Big Six energy suppliers that they risk missing the Government's tough home energy efficiency targets and need to double their insulation rates.
Almost 300,000 insulation measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation have been installed in British homes over the past three months under the government's Carbon Emissions Reductions Target (CERT) scheme, which requires large energy firms to fund domestic energy efficiency measures, which can save up to 293 million tonnes of lifetime CO₂ emissions by December 2012.

Recent figures produced by the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) suggest that the recent insulation work in the UK brings the total number of British homes that have adequate loft insulation to 58 per cent and cavity wall insulation present in 58 per cent of homes with cavities.

However with winter approaching and bills set to increase Chris Huhne has responded to Ofgem's warnings that the rate of insulation work will have to double for the Big Six to hit the CERT targets.

Mr Huhne said: 'More and more people realise that insulation can save you money and make your home cosier. More than £100 can be knocked off your bill if you get your loft lagged and cavity walls filled and thanks to tough government targets for the Big 6 energy companies, consumers can get free or discounted insulation. People should call the Energy Saving Trust for advice on how they can save money on their bills and protect themselves from rising energy prices.

'But these stats also show that energy companies need to pull their finger out and get on with offering even more energy saving help to British households. The companies have made good progress to date and we want them to succeed, but they are going to have to accelerate their lagging rates if they're each going to hit their targets by the end of the next year.'

Energy companies were told by the Coalition in July 2010 to increase the help they make available to people to insulate their homes. Around 3.5 million homes are set to benefit by December 2012 as a result of the tougher Carbon Emissions Reduction Target.

It is estimated that companies will have to double their monthly professionally installed insulation rate from the average 100,000 a month seen since last year to some 200,000 if they are to meet the insulation target. To make sure the target to help those at most risk of fuel poverty is met (the Priority Group), companies will have to increase the rate from an average 5,000 installations a month to 18,000 a month.

Neil Donald, managing director of SIG Energy Management, a European specialist supplier of sustainable building products said: 'While the figures released by DECC are encouraging, 300,000 properties are just the tip of the iceberg. One major challenge to be tackled over the next year is promoting the financial benefits of insulation to property owners by using the next twelve months to highlight the savings that can be made on their energy bills by simply insulating their properties effectively.'

The report also shows that under the CERT scheme there has been a 21 per cent increase in the number of professionally installed insulation compared with the same quarter last year, and 13 per cent more DIY loft insulation installed compared with the same quarter last year.