Millions of low-energy lightbulbs wasted as companies exploit loopholes

Forty-two million energy-saving lightbulbs were sent out by utilities companies in the three months before Christmas under the government's £3bn energy-efficiency scheme, even though many are unlikely to be used.

Since the scheme began less than two years ago, 224 million bulbs have been distributed – almost 10 for each household. According to a survey by the Energy Saving Trust last year, the average home had six unused bulbs lying in drawers.

When the government introduced the three-year scheme in April 2008, it estimated that for it to be most effective, in total 110 million bulbs – less than half the figure to date – should be distributed, the Guardian has learned.

It also said that 2.9 million expensive domestic cavity-wall insulations should be carried out. According to the latest figures from the regulator Ofgem, just under 1m cavity walls have been insulated for households, about half the annual rate needed to meet government forecasts.

Experts said companies were exploiting loopholes to meet their obligations under the scheme in the cheapest way possible, even though more expensive measures such as cavity-wall insulation save far more energy. The costs of the carbon emissions reduction target (Cert) scheme are passed onto households through higher utility bills.

From 1 January, Ofgem only allows bulbs to be distributed to households that have requested them, which prompted the unsolicited deluge of bulbs before Christmas as companies rushed to take advantage before the loophole was closed.

Andrew Warren, chief executive of the Association for the Conservation of Energy, said: "The difficulty is that companies have exploited the loopholes. It's critical because this scheme is the centrepiece of the government's drive to improve energy efficiency in the home. It should be about achieving what it's supposed to do rather than just ticking boxes."

The Guardian has also learned that before Christmas, a marketing company acting on behalf of an energy supplier broke the scheme's rules by sending out water-saving "low-flow" shower attachments to households that had not requested them. Ofgem alerted Eaga, the company administering the scheme, and the marketing company was dropped.

Energy experts have criticised the lax regulation of the scheme, particularly in its first year. Last month, the Observer reported that tens of thousands of lofts that energy companies claimed to have insulated under the scheme, had not because of double counting. Last year, Ofgem introduced new guidelines designed to prevent the double counting.

Last week, the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, unveiled the successor to the Cert scheme, running from 2013 to 2020 and costing at least £18.6bn. Ministers conceded that the new scheme would be more transparent and closely regulated, with energy companies being forced to work closely with local authorities, rather than being able to select households to help themselves. Warren added: " The monitoring is absolutely critical on this."

This article first appeared at the Guardian

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