Energy Report

The Greater London Authority (GLA) has been told it must carry out an urgent and thorough review of the Solar Together London programme, as well as its contract with delivery partner, iChoosr, following a series of significant issues affecting the deliverability of the scheme.

Solar Together London is a Mayoral collective purchasing initiative which was set up in 2019 and aims to increase the installation of domestic rooftop solar panels in London.

The Mayor appointed a third party company, iChoosr, as the delivery partner for the programme with responsibility for facilitating sourcing providers to carry out solar installations.

Increasing uptake of renewable energy offers the potential to make London’s energy greener and more affordable. To date, 17,000 solar panels across 2,000 London homes have been installed as part of the Solar Together London programme.

However, the phase 4 of the scheme has been marred by complaints from customers, with over 600 complaints received to date – 12 per cent of all customers.

In March, the GLA confirmed that iChoosr had suspended Green Energy Together UK (GET UK), one of the Solar Together London installers, due to:

• the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation suspending GET UK’s Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) accreditation.
• GET UK’s membership of the Home Insulation and Energy Systems Contractors Scheme (HIES) being placed under review.

On 30 March this year, the GLA wrote to update the Environment Committee that GET UK’s MCS accreditation had not been reinstated, and that GET UK’s HIES membership had ended.

In addition, the GLA informed the Committee that figures previously provided by iChoosr to the GLA regarding the number of customers at phase 4 installation were incorrect, with approximately 1,000 customers across phases 4 and 5 of the GET UK installation process expected to be affected by these issues.

The London Assembly Environment Committee has published a report into energy across London, with 19 recommendations for the Mayor, the GLA and the Government, including:

• As a matter of urgency, the Mayor should review the GLA’s contract with iChoosr to determine whether it is fit for purpose in identifying suitable solar-panel installers.
• The Mayor should ensure financial protection for all GET UK customers acquired via the Solar Together London programme who have been affected by the delivery issues. This should be aimed at ensuring GET UK customers pay no more than what was originally agreed in their contracts. This should include considering the provision of financial compensation for distress and damages caused to GET UK customers.
• The Mayor should conduct a thorough review of Solar Together London in 2023 to learn from the issues that customers have experienced. He should consider how Solar Together London, and other future energy efficiency and retrofit programmes, can learn from these issues.
• The Government should introduce a social tariff to ensure that the most vulnerable households are protected from high energy prices, particularly when the energy price cap increases in June.