City of Lincoln Council tackle fuel poverty through Fusion21’s Decarbonisation Framework

Having recognised the fuel poverty challenges being faced by residents, the City of Lincoln Council accessed our Decarbonisation Framework to procure a two-year regional retrofit scheme financed through the Sustainable Warmth Fund.

The council was representing the Central and Southern Lincolnshire Consortium, comprising of the City of Lincoln Council, West Lindsey District Council, North Kesteven District Council, and South Kesteven District Council, and the £2.7m scheme focused on driving down domestic carbon emissions and alleviating fuel poverty across the area.

YES Energy Solutions was appointed as the project manager and principle contractor. Their primary objective was to work across the four local authorities to implement energy efficiency installation measures in hard-to-treat residential properties, focusing on home insulation, non-fossil fuel heating systems, and micro-generation technologies.

A broad range of measures were installed, including external wall insulation, air source heat pumps and solar PV. The majority of homes received multiple measures, enhancing Energy Performance Certificate ratings through a considered whole house approach.

There was a high volume of vulnerable customers involved with the scheme, so YES utilised Level 3 accredited customer-centric advisors to ensure that they were helped through the journey, receiving explanations about the benefits and savings of different energy efficiency measures.

Feedback from customers included “I no longer need to worry about inviting people round and it being cold, I’m proud of my home” and “along with the solar panels generating power, somewhere in the region of 30% less electricity is used than we did before.”

In total, YES improved the energy efficiency of 242 households, leading to improved thermal values and lower fuel bills as a result of installing loft insulation, wall insulation, solar PV, heat pumps, electric storage heaters, and more.

The scheme received industrywide recognition, winning ‘Large Scale Project of the Year’ at the 2023 East Midlands Energy Efficiency Awards. Its success prompted the consortium to secure additional funding through the Government’s Home Upgrade Grant Two (HUG2) programme and continue working with YES on a targeted retrofit scheme focused on hard-to-reach homes that are off the mains gas network.

Paul Towers, Framework Manager (Construction and Decarbonisation) at Fusion21, said: “This award-winning scheme has been a hugely successful and impactful one, and we are thrilled to have played a part in enabling residents across Central and Southern Lincolnshire to enjoy warmer homes with lower energy bills.”

Kate Bell, Climate Change Manager at the City of Lincoln Council, said: “Our Central and South Lincolnshire consortium was pleased to appoint YES via Fusion21’s framework to deliver this valuable project to support our residents to reduce their energy bills and carbon emissions. We were keen to extend this contract in 2024 to deliver circa £10m worth of domestic retrofit, supporting our most vulnerable households.”