Policy and People: How the Warm Homes Plan Supports Community Energy

For decades, energy has been something that households consume rather than shape, but the new Warm Homes Plan signals an opportunity to shift that paradigm.

As the energy system evolves, we have a chance to ensure the green transition is more than a technical upgrade. At Energised Futures, we see it as a moment to actively shape a new energy future - one that is more resilient, reliable, diversified and democratised. If we get it right as a collective industry, this shift can strengthen communities, spark innovation, and move us beyond the costs and volatility of the current system 

The UK Government recently launched its much-awaited Warm Homes Plan - the largest home upgrade programme in the country’s history, committing £15bn of public investment to make green energy accessible for millions of households. If the focus of the Warm Homes Plan is anything to go by, the direction of travel is clear: local, people-powered energy models are becoming increasingly central to national policy.  

At Energised Futures – Centrica's in-house research and innovation incubator – we believe Community Energy is key to delivering a green, inclusive energy transition. We completed LocalRES, a Horizon 2020 initiative delivering digital tools that empower Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) to produce, manage and share local renewable energy. Building on this, our Neighbourhood Flex programme explores how these models can work in a UK context- testing how technological, regulatory and market barriers can be overcome to enable sustainable energy sharing across whole neighbourhoods. 

With the future of people‑powered energy in mind, we’ve examined the Warm Homes Plan to consider how it could help scale community energy and widen participation in the transition.  

First, a quick recap on Community Energy.  

Community Energy enables groups of people to collectively invest in, produce and manage renewable energy assets at a local level - helping mitigate the high upfront costs of renewable assets whilst giving people a direct stake in how local energy is produced and used. Alongside these socio-economic benefits Community Energy introduces more renewables into the energy mix, improving energy security by diversifying sources of generation, enhancing grid stability and lowering energy costs for participants. Community Energy projects vary widely in scale and form, but according to Community Energy England’s 2025 State of the Sector Report, the UK currently has around 614 Community Energy organisations, which helped save an estimated £1.86m from people’s energy bills. There is significant room for growth here however, and the scale and structure of support for community energy in the EU offers a useful reference point.  The European Commission’s State of the Energy Union Report 2025 found that, underpinned by a growing framework of policy, funding and technical support, Community Energy is successfully expanding across the EU with around 8,000 Energy Communities now in operation across Member States.  

A Boost for Clean, Local Power.  

The UK has been contending with the effects of the turmoil seen in international energy markets since 2021. According to E3G’s Cost of the Fossil Fuel Crisis in the UK, (2025), this turbulence has cost the UK economy an estimated £183 billion (2024 prices). In such an unpredictable landscape,  locally generated renewable energy offers much‑needed stability both in cost and availability.  

The Warm Homes Plan represents a substantial commitment to making greener, cheaper energy more accessible for all, whilst cutting carbon emissions and lifting one million households out of fuel poverty by 2030. The core tenets of the plan are: 

1. A Universal Offer: zero and low interest government backed grants and loans will be offered to all UK households to scale up deployment of low carbon technologies such as heat pumps, solar panels and batteries. The government aims to triple the number of solar-equipped homes by 2030, whilst accelerating heat pump uptake.  

1. Affordable energy for all: low‑income households will receive fully funded upgrade packages – with the potential to cover full system costs, from insulation to rooftop solar with battery storage. For social housing, there may be the opportunity for entire streets to be upgraded at the same time. 

1. Renters reform: updated rules will require landlords to ensure homes are safe, warm and affordable, — a change expected to lift around half a million families out of fuel poverty by the end of the decade. These standards will be phased in to give landlords a fair timetable for upgrading their properties.