Energy Company Obligation ECO4 (Great Britain): legal framework, supplier duties, HHCRO delivery, Ofgem administration, ECO4A/Great British Insulation Scheme interactions, and 2025–2026 amendments including extension to 31 December 2026

Published by a LexisNexis Environment expert

Practice notes

What is the ECO?

The ECO is an energy‑efficiency programme obliging major energy suppliers to install efficiency measures across existing homes and other domestic premises. It mandates support and finance of about £1bn per annum (at 2022 prices). Its focus is on helping to fit energy‑saving upgrades in low‑income households and neighbourhoods, and in hard‑to‑treat properties. ECO superseded earlier initiatives aimed at cutting carbon and saving energy in homes—the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and the Community Energy Saving Programme. It pursues four policy goals:

alleviating fuel poverty and supporting progress towards fuel poverty targets
cutting carbon emissions
lowering the cost of meeting the UK’s renewable energy target by promoting energy efficiency
stimulating innovation across the sector

ECO operates under secondary legislation: the Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2022, SI 2022/875 (the ECO 2022 Order). The ECO 2022 Order was amended in July 2025 by the Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) (Amendment, Saving and Transitional Provisions) Order 2025, SI 2025/802 in August 2025 by the Electricity and Gas (Energy...

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Dr Ben Christman

Ben Christman is an independent researcher. He has a PhD in law from Queen's University Belfast on the law on fuel poverty from an energy justice perspective (2017). He is an editor of the UK Environmental Law Association's 'elaw' member's newsletter. He is a tutor in EU and public law at the University of Edinburgh. He has recently finished a research project for the Scottish Environment Link, aimed at setting up a Scottish environmental rights centre. He is interested in access to justice. He is a member of the Scottish Environment Link's Legal Governance subgroup and the Law Society of Scotland's access to justice committee. He has worked and volunteered for a number of access to justice-type organisations such as the Ethnic Minorities Law Centre, the Legal Services Agency and the Law Centre Northern Ireland. He currently works part-time for the Lothian Centre for...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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