Thousands more social housing tenants in Wales will benefit from warmer homes and lower energy bills as the Welsh Government announces an additional £14.1 million for energy efficiency improvements.
The funding boost brings total investment in the Optimised Retrofit Programme (ORP) to £107.1 million this year. Since 2020, the programme has already funded 31,000 energy efficiency upgrades to social homes across Wales, cutting household bills whilst reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The ORP funds improvements including insulation, efficient heating systems and renewable energy installations in social housing. Social landlords working through the programme monitor health indicators such as mould and moisture levels, enabling them to provide targeted advice and support to vulnerable tenants.
Cabinet Secretary Jayne Bryant said: “The Welsh Government has set ambitious standards for new and existing social housing to ensure homes are safe, comfortable, healthy and low carbon.
“This additional ORP funding demonstrates our commitment to help social landlords like Hedyn to meet these standards, whilst tackling fuel poverty and climate change, and supporting the creation of green jobs.”
The Cabinet Secretary was speaking at Tredegar where she visited a retrofitted sheltered scheme run by Hedyn, to see the programme’s impact first-hand.
She met with residents benefiting from the improvements, including John Nicholls - 94-year-old former missionary – whose annual energy costs have fallen significantly following his home’s upgrade.
Mr Nicholls said: “I’ve lived in this flat for 30 years and it is the best it has ever been. It’s fantastic now. It’s warm and I can keep an eye on it all the time.
“If I am out, I just use the app on my phone to switch the heating on before I get home.”
The Cabinet Secretary also met Tai Hedyn Decarbonisation surveyor Callum Davies.
Callum benefitted from the Personal Learning Account to gain his retrofit assessor credentials and is currently in his second year of a four-year degree at USW in Building Surveying.
Callum said: “Thanks to Hedyn’s investment in low-carbon heating and hot water systems and the support provided by Welsh Government’s ORP funding, I have been able to progress my career in ways I never thought possible.
“I’ve moved from working on the tools to becoming a qualified retrofit assessor, which has opened up a whole new path for me. I’m now studying for a degree through the degree apprenticeship scheme, which is also funded by Welsh Government and I’m developing more skills. I love that my work helps me create greener, warmer, more efficient homes for our residents. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities the ORP programme has given me.”
