London - The British Electrical Contractors' Association (ECA) claims the UK government's failure to promote its new 'Green Dea'l could undermine the initiative's chance of success.
The Green Deal, which launched 28 Jan, is an initiative to improve energy efficiency in buildings offering finance for efficiency improvements, such as insulation. The cost of the improvements is then spread out through the customer's regular energy bill, which should be equal to or less than their current one.
Paul Reeve, ECA head of business policy and practice, said in a 28 Jan news release that the scheme has been "desperately low" on marketing. The ECA cited a YouGov survey it commissioned in December 2012, which showed that only two percent of the British public fully understood the Green Deal, while 62 percent have never heard of it.
"The potential savings and environmental benefits to homeowners, businesses and the economy could be lost of the public become not just aware of, but enthused by, the Green Deal," Reeve noted, adding that the majority of people who responded to ECA's survey said they were interested in a Green Deal-type scheme.
The organisation called on the UK government to help convert potential enthusiasm into real action.
LMH
