The Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) (Amendment) Order 2026 (S.I. 2026/155) updates the ECO framework to remove ambiguity over double‑funding and to correct drafting errors carried over from 2025. It was made on 23 February 2026, laid on 24 February 2026, and comes into force on 18 March 2026 across Great Britain. The instrument is issued free of charge to recipients of S.I. 2025/802 due to the earlier defect.
Article 2 amends article 12(1)(e) of the Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2022 (S.I. 2022/875) so the “no grant from public funds” condition is expressed through an explicit list of programmes. In plain terms, an ECO measure cannot be claimed if it is financed by any of the following: the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, Boiler Upgrade Scheme, Home Upgrade Grant, Green Homes Grant: Local Authority Delivery, Green Homes Grant: Voucher Scheme, Warm Homes: Local Grant, Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, Scotland’s Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme, Warmer Homes Scotland, Area Based Schemes and Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund, and Wales’s Optimised Retrofit Programme and Warm Homes Nest Scheme. This closes off uncertainty about which grants must be screened before an ECO claim is made.
For delivery partners, the change means funding checks now hinge on named schemes rather than a general reference to public funds. Energy suppliers, installers and managing agents should update due‑diligence templates, household declarations and evidence packs to capture whether the same measure has been supported by any programme on the list. Where other support exists, the corresponding measure cannot be counted towards an ECO obligation and should be removed from claims before submission to the administrator.
Article 3 fixes definition issues in S.I. 2025/802 highlighted by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments. The Order confirms that “post‑project energy efficiency assessment” takes its meaning from Part 10 of the 2022 Order, introduces a specific definition of “post‑installation energy efficiency assessment” by reference to article 22(1)(b) of the 2023 Order, and confirms that “pre‑installation energy efficiency assessment” has the same meaning as in the 2023 Order. This aligns terminology used in the 2025 saving and transitional provisions with the underlying Orders. (publications.parliament.uk)
The correction follows the JCSI’s Thirty‑seventh Report of Session 2024–26, which drew special attention to S.I. 2025/802 for defective drafting where cross‑references and a missing definition created legal uncertainty. DESNZ committed to remedying the points at the earliest opportunity; this Order delivers that remedy. (publications.parliament.uk)
Territorial extent is Great Britain. The Order is made under section 33BD of the Gas Act 1986 and section 41B of the Electricity Act 1989 with the agreement of the Scottish Ministers, following consultation with the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (Ofgem), the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, Consumer Scotland, distributors, suppliers and other stakeholders named in the preamble.
The practical effect for councils, registered providers and devolved administrators is straightforward: where a dwelling receives a measure under SHDF, HUG, BUS or the listed Scottish or Welsh schemes, that same measure cannot be claimed under ECO. Delivery chains should maintain clear audit trails separating capital contributions and ensure that any ECO scoring excludes grant‑funded measures from the specified programmes.
For households, eligibility categories under ECO are unchanged. The amendment tightens the funding condition only. Households supported by a named grant still receive that support; the change simply prevents the same measure from being claimed again under ECO. Scheme phases, targets and compliance routes remain as set out in the 2022 and 2025 instruments.
Administratively, the Order records that no impact assessment has been produced because no, or no significant, impact on the private or voluntary sector is foreseen. This reflects the clarificatory nature of both the named‑grants provision and the definitional fixes rather than a change to the core obligation or targets.
The instrument is signed for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero by Martin McCluskey, Parliamentary Under‑Secretary of State (Minister for Energy Consumers), on 23 February 2026. Delivery partners should incorporate the changes into compliance checks in time for commencement on 18 March 2026. (gov.uk)