News
Community Energy England welcomes the Warm Homes Plan
22 January 2026
On 21 January the government launched the Warm Homes Plan, visiting one of our members, Hackney Light and Power (seen in the background of Ed Miliband’s video). We are pleased to see community energy featured so visibly in this conversation.
Our Chief Executive, Emma Bridge, said, “Community Energy England welcomes the plan which invests £15billion to help millions of families make their homes permanently more efficient and move away from fossil fuels, by installing solar, batteries, heat pumps and insulation. The plan rightly targets people who previously could not afford these upgrades, supports social housing, and introduces new protections and support for renters and landlords. We look forward to working with the government and local partners to put people at the heart of the energy transformation”.
We also want to recognise that the Warm Homes Plan:
- Puts people first – it is framed around reducing energy bills and tackling fuel poverty, with support to all households as well as extra help for those on low incomes.
- Includes new loan support – there will be government-backed low and zero-interest loans to make technologies more affordable for everyone.
- Strengthens renters’ rights – the plan introduces new minimum energy performance protections so people who rent can also benefit from warmer, cheaper-to-run homes in the years ahead.
But we also want to stress a few important messages:
Local, trusted support matters
There will be a central Warm Homes Agency, but there’s no substitute for trusted local organisations who know their communities and can offer face-to-face advice, support homeowners and renters before, during and after upgrades, and help people understand that choices are right for them.
Community energy delivers real value
Our members have already been supporting residents with advice, energy efficiency measures and retrofit – delivering at least £9 of social benefit for every £1 spent, often saving residents hundreds of pounds a year while cutting carbon.
Neighbourhood approaches work
Community Energy England members have been pioneering neighbourhood approaches to solar, battery projects, and heat pump programmes for some time and have been helping bring people together, spread benefits locally, and build skills and jobs in communities. Our members BHESCo with POP Energy is a great example of this here as well as Net Zero Terraced Streets which showcases solar, battery and shared ground source heat pumps with fabric improvements here.
Ensuring quality and capacity matters
To meet the ambitions in the Warm Homes Plan, we need enough skilled installers and local supply chains – and a robust quality assurance so that people get long-lasting, reliable improvements, not just gadgets.
We look forward to working with government, local authorities and other partners to “put people at the heart of the energy transformation” – making sure the Warm Homes Plan really delivers warmth, savings and community benefit for everyone.