Tyneside MP praises Eaga staff

Tyne Bridge MP David Clelland has visited Eaga’s customer service centre on Tyneside to see how staff are helping vulnerable households through the Government-funded Warm Front Scheme.

Fast growing green support services company Eaga has almost 300 staff based at the service centre in Gateshead.

They handle up to 32,000 calls each week from customers applying for Warm Front energy efficiency grants to make their homes greener and more affordable to heat.

Insulating a loft to the recommended minimum level of 270mm can help households cut annual energy bills by as much as £200 and carbon emissions by up to a tonne. Cavity wall insulation can have a similar impact.

Rising fuel prices and the need to protect the environment from dangerous C02 levels are making the operation at the service centre increasingly important.

David Clelland MP said: “Solutions which tackle climate change are vital, but they must also address social issues such as fuel poverty at the same time. Energy efficiency must be accessible to all, and I was very impressed to see how passionate the call handling staff at Eaga are at putting this into practice by reaching out to those most in need.

“The Government is committed to ending fuel poverty and the Warm Front scheme, along with the obligation on energy suppliers to help people in fuel poverty with energy efficiency, is at the heart of our efforts.

“I am also delighted that in my own constituency of Tyne Bridge, Warm Front has assisted more than 3,000 households since 2000.

” Amber Jobling, Head of the Customer Service Centre, said: “This is not a normal customer service centre. We measure our people on quality rather than quantity and we are extremely proud of their professionalism, compassion and commitment to our customers. It’s all about being able to help people who may be living in cold, damp homes and being ready to respond to their needs immediately with their first call.

” As well as managing Warm Front Eaga also works with all six major energy suppliers in the delivery of the Government-set Carbon Emission Reduction Targets (CERT). Scottish Power recently outsourced its entire CERT obligations to Eaga, and staff at the Customer Service Centre are instrumental in making sure those in most need benefit from the insulation grants it provides.

Based in Newcastle, Eaga has more than 4,500 employees across the UK and from operations in Ireland, India and Canada. Around a quarter of its workforce is based in the North East.

Notes to Editors

• Eaga plc is the UK’s largest residential energy efficiency provider. The company is a leader in the provision of innovative and sustainable services, products and solutions that address the environmental, social and energy efficiency objectives of Government and the private sector both nationally and internationally.
• Working in partnership with central and local government Eaga is positioned at the heart of policy-making and front-end delivery of social and environmental improvement programmes. Eaga operates across the UK and in the Republic of Ireland, India and Canada employing over 3,500 people.
• Eaga was established in Newcastle in 1990 to lead government funded efforts to improve the living conditions of vulnerable people living in cold, damp and energy inefficient homes across England. Since its inception, Eaga has made a positive difference to over 5 million disadvantaged households across the UK, by installing energy efficiency measures and central heating.
• Eaga holds the contract to deliver the £1.5 billion Warm Front programme in England, the cornerstone of government's target to eliminate fuel poverty by installing energy efficiency measures in vulnerable homes by 2010. Eaga also works with devolved nation governments to deliver similar schemes across the UK.
• As a co-owned business, Eaga is one of only a handful of UK organisations where every employee with over a year’s service is entitled to a share in the success of the business. Eaga’s commitment to co-ownership is an integral part of the values that define the ethos of the business and what it means to be an Eaga employee.
• The Government has set targets for all local authorities to have all social rented homes meeting Decent Homes standards by 2010. This requires homes to be fit for habitation, in a reasonable state of repair, with reasonably modern facilities and services and a reasonable degree of thermal comfort.
• Since 2000, Eaga has invested over £3 million in the independent Eaga Partnership Charitable Trust which funds research into solutions to fuel poverty.