GMB, the energy union, has criticised a plan to ban all new homes from the gas network.
A joint letter to the Secretary of State - signed by Octopus Energy, Eon and others - calls for new homes not to be connected to the gas grid in order to ensure a market for heat pumps, technology a number of the signatories stand to gain from.
Meanwhile the latest figures show the Government’s heat pump subsidy is being used primarily in richer parts of the country whilst being paid for by all energy customers, meaning working class communities are paying for middle class heating.
Andy Prendergast, GMB National Secretary, said:
“This letter is a partisan and short-sighted attempt to deny consumers choice.
“At the exact moment when hydrogen trials are starting in earnest and when billions are being invested across the world in a viable alternative to fossil fuels, this plan is no more than an attempt by vested interests to attack working class jobs and prevent the UK from becoming a world leader in technology that offers both energy security and a viable way to net zero.
“Despite numerous taxpayer funded discounts, the reality is that you can’t give heat pumps away.
“Rather than subsidise middle class virtue signalling, working people want choice and a future for the skills they have proudly built up. Pe
“The road to net zero simply can’t be paved with the livelihoods of tens of thousands of gas workers when a viable alternative exists.”
