Great Green Upgrade

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 15:56:33 Z

Thousands of Curo customers will be getting upgrades to their homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run, thanks to a £18million investment.

It was announced that today (11 March 2025) that the Bath-based housing association has been awarded £5million from the Government’s Warm Homes scheme, and Curo will be adding an extra £13million.

The project, known at the Great Green Upgrade, will run for three-and-a-half years, and will see around 1,066 households across Bath and Bristol getting improvements to their homes, which could include solar panels, improved insulation, new windows and doors, and upgraded heating systems.

Curo’s Director of Procurement and Asset Management, Matt Steele, said: “We’re delighted that we’ve been awarded this funding. which will allow us to make energy-saving upgrades to these homes.

“We know that rising energy bills are a concern for many of our customers, so it’s brilliant that we’re going to be able to make these improvements.

“Customers have also told us that sustainability is important to them, and these changes will also make the homes greener and reduce their carbon footprint.

“All homes need to have an energy efficiency rating of at least EPC C by 2030, and the Great Green Upgrade is part of our work to make sure that we can achieve this.”

Curo completed its first energy-saving home improvement project last summer, with 22 homes in Pensford and Compton Dando benefiting from a range of upgrades which saw their energy efficiency rating improving from D to B. The estimated reduction of carbon emissions across all the homes every year is roughly equivalent to the amount that would be produced from driving around the world more than10 times, or leaving a 100W light bulb on for 275 years.

The project was featured on ITV’s Tonight programme in November 2024, with Curo customers Robin and Lucy White talking about the difference the improvements had made to their lives . Robin told the show that since the work had been completed their electricity bill had almost halved. He told the show: “I can say quite categorically that our house is much warmer than it was two years ago. And the money that we have saved on those electricity bills has helped enormously.”

A second project involving 74 homes in Bath and Bristol is currently underway and due to be completed next month.

It’s hoped that the first phase of this latest project will be completed by the summer.

Find out more about the work we're doing to make our homes more energy efficient on this web page.

Does your electricity meter need upgrading?

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 16:33:30 Z

If you’ve got an old-style electricity meter you’ll need to make sure it’s replaced by the end of June or your heating and hot water could stop working, and your bills might be wrong.

Some older Economy 7 and other similar meters use something called ‘Radio Switch Service’ (RTS) to work. This allows meters to switch between peak and off-peak rates, or turn your heating on and off so you can heat your home and let your water heat up over night when the rates are cheaper.

But the RTS is going to be switched off on 30 June 2025, so all of these old meters need to be replaced with modern smart meters before then.

How do I know if I have an RTS meter?

You might have an RTS meter if:

your home has a separate switch box near your meter with a Radio Teleswitch label on it
your home is heated using electricity or storage heaters
there is no gas supply to your area, including households in rural areas and high-rise flats
you get cheaper energy at different times of day, for example, you might be on an Economy 7, Economy 10, or Total Heat Total Control tariff.

If you have an RTS meter it might look like this:

This video can also help you identify if you have an RTS meter, and what you should do next:

If you’re still not sure you can contact your energy supplier and they’ll be able to tell you.

If you don’t know who your supplier is, you can find out through the Ofgem website.

What happens if I do need a new meter?

Your energy supplier should be in touch to arrange to install a new meter. If you haven’t hear from them you can contact them directly.

We’ll arrange for any meters that cover communal areas to be replaced.

What if my meter doesn't get changed?

If you don't change your meter before the deadline of 30 June 2025 then:

your heating and hot water may be left continually on or off
your electric storage heaters may charge at the wrong time of day, possibly leading to higher bills
your supplier may be unable confirm your electricity usage during peak or off-peak times, and your electricity costs may be higher than before
you’ll have a more limited choice of tariffs.

You can find out more about replacing your RTS meter on the Ofgem website.

Curo News

Great Green Upgrade

Does your electricity meter need upgrading?

How do I know if I have an RTS meter?

What happens if I do need a new meter?

What if my meter doesn't get changed?