The Energy Act provides for a step change in the provision of energy efficiency measures to homes and businesses, and makes improvements to legislative frameworks to enable secure low-carbon energy supplies and fair competition in the energy markets. The Energy Act includes provisions on:

The Green Deal
• Creating a new financial framework that enables the provision of fixed improvements to the energy efficiency of households and non-domestic properties, funded by a charge on energy bills that avoids the need for consumers to pay upfront costs.

The Private Rented Sector
• From April 2016, private residential landlords will be unable to refuse a tenant's reasonable request for consent to energy efficiency improvements where a finance package, such as the Green Deal and/or the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), is available.
• Provisions in the Act also provide for powers to ensure that from April 2018, it will be unlawful to rent out a residential or business premise that does not reach a minimum energy efficiency standard (the intention is for this to be set at EPC rating 'E').

Energy Company Obligation (ECO)
The Act amends existing powers in the Gas Act 1986, Electricity Act 1989 and the Utilities Act 2000 to enable the Secretary of State to create a new ECO that will:
• Take over from existing obligations to reduce carbon emissions (the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP)), which expire at the end of 2012.
• Work alongside the Green Deal finance offer by targeting appropriate measures at those households likely to need additional support – in particular those containing vulnerable people on low incomes and in hard-to-treat housing.

To assist in the promotion and launch of the Green Deal, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) have enabled a pilot scheme under Green Deal Scheme EN 45011.
DECC believes the Green Deal will revolutionise the energy efficiency of British properties.

All households and businesses will be entitled to an energy efficiency assessment, carried out by a certifed assessor (Green Deal Advisor).
Following assessment, consumers may be offered energy efficiency improvements at no up-front cost. Instead, the value of the investment can potentially be recouped through mechanisms such as a charge on the energy bill, fixed to the property.
Certified Green Deal Installers will install the measures to the highest quality assured standards to ensure the energy efficiency measures deliver genuine carbon and energy bill savings, with the confidence that the advice, products and service received is from reliable and accredited sources.

The repayment and follow up of the Green Deal finance will be a charge added to the energy meter installed at the property, which enables the occupier to repay via their energy bill.
This repayment obligation sits with the property and transfers to any new occupier.
The Act also includes measures to:
• Improve energy efficiency and energy security
• Enable low-carbon technologies
• Extend the role of the Coal Authority
• Repeal the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 (HECA) in Scotland and Wales