Huhne goes – now stand by for more of the same

So, how did Chris Huhne do?

One of the biggest criticisms of the previous government was the failure to properly deliver intended change through policy and legislation.  

Chris Huhne has had to step down and the same criticism of his stewardship of the department can be applied.  DECC and the government as a whole, have been 'busy' in the energy and climate change arena, but have failed to deliver very much that will make a difference.  

In some areas there has simply been a failure to enforce (Part L of building regulations), wishful thinking (Green Deal), contradictory signals (claiming to be the 'Greenest Government ever' yet still removing the requirement for BREEAM excellent in schools).

At the same time, they are planning to be very 'brave' by unilaterally introducing a carbon price floor. Don’t get me wrong; the Government is doing a lot of sensible things about energy – and cutting the PV tariff is one of those. However, these things have to be managed carefully.

Staircase
In Germany they have had a tariff ‘staircase’ in place for years, which means the industry knows well in advance when the steps down in payments are scheduled. They also did not review their tariff scheme four times in the first year!

This week also saw a two-month delay applied to the new standard for heat pump installations. February 1 was supposed to be the day when the MIS3005 rule came into force as part of the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).

However, on January 31 – it was delayed. It is designed to overcome the problem of heat pumps being wrongly sized and so failing to perform properly – an issue highlighted in theEnergy Saving Trust’s heat pump trials.

The sizing standards are a really good idea, so why the delay? Because nobody has been trained to meet them and because the relevant sizing software is not yet available. Another example of a good idea, badly managed with little thought to how it should be implemented.  

Graham Hendra posted his frustration on the H&V Review linked-in group page and I echo his sentiments. In the light of that late, very late, apparently unforeseen reversal, what do we think are the chances of a carbon price floor being introduced in the UK?

The trouble is that the industry and the general public begin to feel that ministers really aren’t very good at managing the process. They will make powerful statements and often support solid legislation, but when it comes to follow through and delivery they have moved on and as we all know the difficult bit is in the delivery. 

So do we expect Ed Davey, who takes Mr Huhne’s place, to be any better? No probably not - expect to see more of the same.