I used to have a great job. I went to work earlier than normal. I worked more than 8 hours a day, and I made a good wage. I sold insulation, boilers, and solar energy systems for home owners. They all loved their upgraded homes and their PV systems and are now enjoying the benefits of the FIT. They are warm and have lower energy bills.
David Cameron cut the FIT payment scheme by more than half and the great job ended. I was out of work, unable to support myself or my family. The higher tax rates I had been paying to the government turned into a JSA – Job seekers allowance payment to me. I was not alone. The entire division of my company that used to sell and install solar systems went under. The parent company was bought for peanuts by a capital investment company. More workers lost their jobs. Estimates are that the radical and needless cut in the FIT tariff caused around 40,000 to lose their jobs.
I have finally found a new job working for a big company selling insulation, boilers and solar systems. This company had contracted with the BIG 6 energy suppliers to use their ECO contributions to help those families in fuel poverty.
Over 2 million homes in the UK have problems with energy bills and have to chose between heating or eating. I have blogged in the past regarding the rip-off rises in electricity and gas over the last few years. Cameron has wrongly blamed these rises on the ECO and Green Deal programs that the government has put in place. This is not true. The cost increases are due to greedy energy suppliers who are manipulating the wholesale cost of energy and then passing the charges on to YOU the poor consumer. They make lots more money each time they do this.
Now Cameron is pushing back the ECO targets. Eco funding was set to help the poor and unfortunate who can’t heat their homes because it costs too much. New boilers and insulation in an older home will help reduce the costs of heating a home. It will also reduce our dependency on foreign fossil fuels and remove the need to frack in the UK.
The more energy efficient we become as a nation the more we become independent from foreign energy suppliers. Greater efficiency leads to reduced need, which leads to no new nuclear power plants being build. Reducing our energy usage also helps us to meet the carbon targets we have agreed to reach. Our climate is changing and we are paying the price with greater storms and flooding. We need to change our ways to help our climate and our country.
David Cameron has decided to use the fraudulent rises in energy prices as an excuse to cut funding to the ECO program. Employers have already begun laying off staff because the energy companies have said they don’t have to fund these programs any more. The cut in funding has been immediate. The loss of jobs has been as fast. Has your bill gone down yet??
Mine hasn’t gone down. IF your bill does go down please comment on this blog so I can spread the good news. I don’t expect to see allot of comments. Cameron is once again helping his friends in#stead of you. Cameron is cutting government support for ECO like he did FIT and we are paying the price with climate change, new nuclear plants, fracking, and a loss of jobs.
Write to your MP and tell them to return the ECO funding now!