The independent eaga Charitable TrustProjects

Below are summaries of the projects that eaga Charitable Trust has supported with grants. Where available, these summaries provide links to project and research reports. For a full listing of projects, please view the projects index.

  • Fuel Poverty Impact Bonds

    Project Title: 
    Fuel Poverty Impact Bonds
    Grant Holders: 
    Centre for Sustainable Energy
    Main Contact: 
    Ian Preston: ian.preston@cse.org.uk
    summary: 

    Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) offer an innovative and powerful new mechanism for leveraging private sector investment into social welfare programmes. The SIB concept can be defined as: a commitment from a public authority (e.g. an NHS Trust) to use a proportion of the savings that result from improved social outcomes (e.g. reduced hospital admissions) to reward non-government investors (e.g. a charitable trust) that fund early intervention activities (e.g. a fuel poverty alleviation programme). 

    The project will examine the feasibility and desirability of SIBs as a funding instrument for fuel poverty alleviation activities, exploring the required technical, financial and institutional arrangements.

    Start Date: 
    August 2011
    Completion Date: 
    January 2012

  • Masters of Research Bursary: Qualifying and quantifying fuel poverty across the 27 EU member states

    Project Title: 
    Qualifying and quantifying fuel poverty across the 27 EU states
    Grant Holders: 
    Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of York
    Main Contact: 
    Dr Carolyn Snell, Lecturer in Social and Environmental Policy. Email: cjs130@york.ac.uk
    summary: 

    Masters dissertation

    Traditionally, fuel poverty has been regarded as a British and Irish phenomenon, however, with the accession of numerous countries to the European Union, rising fuel prices, and the move towards a single liberalised energy market, fuel poverty is likely to become an increasing concern for the European Union as a whole. However, knowledge regarding fuel poverty on a European level is limited, with only two published comparative studies. As both studies used data from 1994 to 1997, there is a large gap in knowledge regarding fuel poverty in EU Member States post-1997.

    This dissertation aims to fill a gap in existing knowledge by considering the question: how is fuel poverty conceptualised across the EU, and what levels of fuel poverty exist?  The research question will be addressed in two ways.  Firstly, existing and emerging definitions of fuel poverty across the member states will be explored, alongside an examination of whether and how these definitions are linked to social inclusion agendas.  This exploration will be conducted through an analysis of literature surrounding fuel poverty at the EU level in addition to existing national fuel poverty literature in individual member states. Due to the emerging nature of fuel poverty in some member states, a comprehensive grey literature search will be undertaken.   Secondly, secondary analysis of the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) will be conducted in order to quantify fuel poverty in the EU. 

    The dissertation contributes to Professor Bradshaw's ongoing research project 'Comparing Poverty and Living Standards, Family Change and Employment in the EU'.

    Masters student's name: Harriet Thomson

    Supervised by Jonathan Bradshaw and Carolyn Snell, The Department of Social Policy and Social Work, The University of York.

    Start Date: 
    March 2011
    Completion Date: 
    November 2011
    Useful Links: 

    Research summary

    Dissertation

  • Local Councils and the Green Deal

    Project Title: 
    Local Councils and the Green Deal
    Grant Holders: 
    Joanne Wade and Impetus Consulting Ltd
    Main Contact: 
    Joanne Wade, email: joanne.wade09@gmail.com
    summary: 

    Local councils (e.g. Parish or Community Councils) are uniquely placed to work on energy action at a very local level with their communities.  This project aims to encourage and enable local councils to engage in local energy action that helps to cut fuel poverty, and also to explore the extent to which such action can help potentially excluded local communities to benefit from the Green Deal.  Linked to this, the project will explore what more is needed to enable local councils to play a full role in the equitable implementation of Government sustainable energy policy.

    Start Date: 
    February 2011
    Completion Date: 
    January 2012
    Useful Links: 

    Interim report - of interest to those involved in Green Deal and/or fuel poverty policy.  

  • Costs of the ECO: the impact on fuel poverty

    Project Title: 
    Costs of the ECO: the impact on fuel poverty
    Grant Holders: 
    Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE)
    Main Contact: 
    Darryl Croft, Senior Researcher, email: darryl@ukace.org
    summary: 

    Obligations placed on energy companies to achieve energy or carbon saving targets invoke costs that are passed back to consumers in their energy bills.  The manner in which these costs are passed back (e.g. split per customer account, per unit of energy consumed, varied by payment type or customer profile) will affect the impact of the Obligations on fuel poor and vulnerable households

    With Government planning a new Energy Company Obligation (ECO) from 2013, this project will assess the way in which these costs have been passed on to date, and develop recommendations for cost-recovery under the ECO, so as to maximise the number of households removed and protected from fuel poverty. 

    Start Date: 
    March 2011
    Completion Date: 
    September 2011
    Useful Links: 

    Research Summary

    Full Report

     

  • Needs of vulnerable consumers who face multiple barriers

    Project Title: 
    Needs of vulnerable consumers who face multiple barriers
    Grant Holders: 
    Centre for Consumers and Essential Services, University of Leicester
    Main Contact: 
    Professor Cosmo Graham, cosmo.graham@leicester.ac.uk
    summary: 

    Given the essential nature of energy services for people's health, safety and well-being, it is vitally important that they are easily able to access information, advice, and assistance to ensure that their needs are met regarding these services.  There is, however, evidence that many people in vulnerable circumstances face multiple barriers and that the responses of policy-makers and suppliers inadequately reflect the varied nature of people's needs.  This project aims to present a reliable account of the nature and range of needs of people in vulnerable circumstances, and about the barriers to obtaining information, advice and assistance in dealing with energy suppliers and in obtaining help with other relevant services.  A key objective is to achieve a better understanding of consumer vulnerability, and to make practical recommendations to help improve policies and practices.

    Start Date: 
    October 2010
    Completion Date: 
    November 2011
    Useful Links: 

    Research Summary

    Full report