AgilityEco
Fund manager - Bridges Fund Management
AgilityEco plans, manages and delivers innovative services that support households living in fuel poverty.
- 2500000 Number of households living in fuel poverty in England
- 36272 Number of households financially supported by AgilityEco
- £177m Amount of lifetime energy bill saving made by AgilityEco
Challenge
2.5 million households live in fuel poverty in England – more than 10%, and an increase of 225,000 since 2014. The average fuel poverty gap (the amount needed to lift a household out of fuel poverty) was £321 in 2017. Continuously rising fuel costs, inefficient housing stock, and rising household debt, leave too many people having to make unacceptable choices between ‘heating or eating’.
As part of the Government’s efforts to address this challenge, the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme requires licensed energy providers to reduce lifetime fuel bills for fuel-poor households by over £8bn between 2018-2022, while targeting the most vulnerable households first.
Approach
AgilityEco plans, manages and delivers innovative services that support households living in fuel poverty. The company provides practical help with energy efficiency, utility bills, household finances and vulnerability, while also working closely with local authorities, housing providers and charities to find the households most in need.
AgilityEco’s services are funded by utility companies that need to fulfil their social and environmental obligations under the ECO scheme, and also by over 150 local authorities who want to identify households that are eligible for the Warm Home Discount. Bridges Fund Management works in partnership with AgilityEco to support the continued scaling of the business, helping more vulnerable households save on their energy costs and, in doing so, reducing the fuel poverty gap to help more people out of fuel poverty. They received £11.8 million in investment from Bridges' Evergreen Holdings, a £50 million fund that Big Society Capital invested £30 million into.
Impact
Since its launch in 2013, AgilityEco has grown rapidly, supporting nearly 40,000 UK households in 2019 alone. It has four complementary business streams, including funding, designing, managing and operating fuel poverty and energy efficiency programmes, with an award-winning Local Energy Advice Partnership.
AgilityEco
By introducing energy-efficiency measures in homes, AgilityEco has also contributed to a wider reduction in carbon emissions. It’s made £177 million in lifetime energy bill savings, installing 93,809 energy-efficiency measures in 2018 alone and unlocking £35 million of funding for clients and partners. It’s abated 767,937 tonnes of CO2 emissions, made 5,122 emergency interventions for vulnerable customers, and given financial support to 36,272 households through income, benefits and energy-efficiency measures.