Government is listening to us on Off Grid heating

Kerry Booth, Chief Executive of the RSN says:

“Rural areas want to be part of the solution to Net Zero but they shouldn’t be discriminated against because of their postcode.

“25% of rural homes aren’t connected to the gas network which means they have to be more reliant on fossil fuels whether they want to or not. These are also the people who earn £2,000 less a year and are feeling the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

“The proposed policy was forcing these communities to make the transition 10 years earlier than urban areas.  It was also forcing a ‘heat-pump-first’ approach without consideration for other technologies.  Rural communities will also tell you that their electricity supply isn’t ready for the increase in demand and broadband connectivity is so poor that most rural homes don’t have Gigabit capability which limits the technology they can install to heat their homes.

“The proposals and arbitrary timescales were a sticky plaster which would never really work and a quick fix for Net Zero.  Last week, the Vice Chair of the APPG on Rural Services, Philip Dunne said that the numbers the proposals were based on were underestimated.

“We want the government to now look at this holistically.  This starts with addressing the inequalities in rural areas and really level up the rural/urban divide.  Rural is so much more than a place to put wind or solar farms. They are home to people who work together to implement things like Community Energy Schemes.  Don’t dictate; give rural communities the right tools and fair funding then they will lead the way in the Net Zero challenge.”