A Portsmouth City Council team that works to save residents money and make their homes as energy efficient as possible has won a top award.
Portsmouth City Council’s Energy Services team won the “Vulnerable Customer Support Organisation of the Year” award at the South East Energy Efficiency Awards this week.
Switched On Portsmouth, the in-house energy saving team was also highly commended in the “Regional Council of the Year” category and commended in the “Regional Large-Scale Project” for Portsmouth International Port’s Solar panel installation project.
The Vulnerable Customer Support award is presented to organisations that are engaged in tackling the issue of Fuel Poverty or support of vulnerable people. Through various schemes, the council leads a consortium of 23 local authorities and has secured over £70 million to provide energy efficiency measures such as insulation, air source heat pumps and solar panels.
This year the Switched On Portsmouth team has used government funding such as Local Authority Delivery and Home Upgrade Grant schemes, to ensure over 3,000 homes have received energy efficiency upgrades and provide a lifetime bill saving of £11 million.
Cllr Kimberly Barrett, Cabinet member for Climate Change and Greening the City said:
“It’s great to see the hard work of the energy team being recognised. The team work hard at tackling fuel poverty at a time when the cost of living is a major concern for many households around the city. The council is investing in energy efficiency at every step of the way, from embedding energy efficient technology in newly built or converted council homes, to major projects like installing solar panels at the port. It is through these changes that we can deliver our promise to tackle the climate emergency with everything we do. “
Switched On Portsmouth is a part of the council that is dedicated to supporting vulnerable people with energy saving measures, through a variety of government schemes. You may be eligible for free home visits, small energy saving measures and support with your bills. Find out how the team can help by visiting switchedonportsmouth.co.uk.
