Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has reportedly made ‘zero bills’ the key focus of the delayed £15bn Warm Homes Plan for retrofitting the UK’s homes, with details expected to emerge in January including an extra £1.5bn of funding.

In the run up to New Year, Milliband was quoted by the Times as saying that the plan would focus on expanding the use of solar panels, battery storage and heat pumps, with an ambition for some households to generate enough energy to eliminate electricity bills altogether.

However commentators have questioned whether there is enough focus on new build alongside retrofit of existing homes, and whether insulation and fabric efficiency is being given a high enough priority.

Laura Stone, COO at Greencore Homes, commented: “Technologies such as heat pumps and solar panels can only truly reduce bills when the home itself is sufficiently insulated and airtight. That’s why future-proofing new homes from the outset matters.”

She added: “Designing new homes properly now is far more cost-effective and far less disruptive than trying to fix performance issues later down the line.”

In addition, Milliband’s plans reportedly include a levy on gas boilers to achieve a cut in electricity prices, and thereby reduce the ‘spark gap’ between gas and electricity prices – currently a blocker to the switchover to electric-powered heating. The Ofgem price cap on electricity currently puts it at four times higher for customers than gas. Gas bills have been further eased by the Government’s removal of the ECO scheme.