Lords back campaigners’ call for changes to hydrogen trials
The House of Lords backed calls from campaigners to prevent energy firms from passing the cost of proposed hydrogen trials onto bill payers.
But they failed to back calls to ban energy firms from forcibly entering people’s homes to convert their heating to hydrogen.
The original draft of the Energy Bill enabled the creation of “hydrogen village trials” which would force up to 2,000 homes in the trial area to convert their home heating and their appliances to hydrogen to be paid for by every bill payer in the country.
Clauses also increased the powers of access granted to fossil fuel companies, which could theoretically involve forcibly installing hydrogen boilers without residents’ consent.
On Monday (24 April), the Energy Bill passed its latest stage in the House of Lords and will now move to the House of Commons where the Government can seek to overturn amendments – and MPs can try and introduce new changes.
A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:
“While we’re pleased that the House of Lords saw sense and amended the Bill to prevent us all from paying for these trials, it is vital that MPs keep these amendments in place and go further so we do not increase the powers of energy firms to force their way into people’s homes.”
“Given energy firms’ track record on forcing their way into people’s homes during the prepayment meters scandal, there is simply no way the Government should be looking to increase their powers of entry through the Energy Bill.”
An End Fuel Poverty Coalition explainer on how hydrogen could impact people’s homes has been produced for people wanting to learn more about this new development: https://www.endfuelpoverty.
