The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) was the UK’s flagship energy efficiency programme from 2013 until its replacement in early 2026 under the Warm Homes Plan (WHP).
We have been delivering ECO on behalf of many energy suppliers, developing our expertise as a large-scale retrofit partner on projects across the UK, including Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund.
How ECO worked
The scheme’s purpose has been simple: to make homes warmer, cheaper to heat and more energy efficient, particularly for people on lower incomes or living in vulnerable circumstances.
Unlike grant-funded schemes, ECO was delivered and funded by energy suppliers, not general taxation, through a modest levy on household energy bills which equated to around £40-£45 per dual-fuel household each year.
Between 2013 and 2025 ECO delivered:
- 2.6 million homes upgraded with over 4.3 million insulation & heating measures
- More than £20 billion in household bill savings
- Health, comfort and wellbeing improvements for hundreds of thousands of families
- Over 70 million tonnes of reduction in UK CO2e, contributing to carbon-budget target
- A UK retrofit market worth over £15 billion, employing around 80,000 skilled workers
- 1000s of new green jobs and apprenticeships, developing skills essential for the UK transition to net zero
Why it mattered
ECO brought immediate energy bill savings for upgraded households, plus long-term savings because energy-efficient homes remain cheaper to heat for years. The programme functioned as a safety net for people facing fuel poverty, by upgrading energy-inefficient homes that drain household finances and contribute to ill health.
ECO’s regulatory structure differed from other funding mechanisms. As a licence condition for energy suppliers, it gave them a direct, Ofgem-enforced obligation to achieve measurable outcomes. This model built a strong track record through its ability to adapt, improve and sustain retrofit delivery at scale.
ECO contributed directly to two central UK Government objectives:
- Alleviate fuel poverty: helping low-income and vulnerable households reduce energy bills and live in warmer, healthier homes
- Carbon reduction and net zero: cutting emissions from UK housing stock, one of the biggest sources of energy demand
The ECO programme underpinned a national retrofit market worth more than £15 billion in 2025 and supported around 80,000 skilled jobs in insulation, heating, renewable energy and retrofit management.
By giving businesses long-term visibility and regulated demand, ECO sustained investment in training, apprenticeships and local employment across the country, helping spread economic opportunity and build a valuable skills base.
Over 2013 to 2025 the ECO scheme built a nationwide delivery network of accredited installers, managing agents, manufacturers and local partners. This ecosystem of expertise, compliance systems and workforce became the foundation of a retrofit industry that can grow and adapt to meet the UK’s future energy and climate goals.