No electric heating, no net zero says OVO

OVO has set out a plan to tackle heat decarbonisation and cut its own emissions

OVO says unless home heating is electrified fast, the UK risks failing its net zero goals.

Unveiled during London Climate Action Week, the energy company’s first Climate Transition Plan — bluntly titled Mind the Green Gap — sets out a roadmap to slash its own emissions and help customers do the same by 2035.

But OVO insists that real progress will only come with a total reset of energy policy and urgent collaboration across industry and government.

The plan calls home heating “the hardest, most critical, and most overlooked piece of the puzzle.”

Gas boilers still dominate Britain’s homes, and unless they’re replaced with electric solutions, the country won’t meet climate goals.

Owen Anderson, Head of Sustainability at OVO said: “Without making clean heat affordable, and a green electricity grid to support it, we will fail on net zero.

“We need urgent action to make electric heating cheaper and accessible for every household.”

The plan targets several key policy reforms: shifting costs off electricity to make it cheaper than gas, building financial incentives to support the switch to electric heat and restoring a clear deadline to phase out new gas boiler sales.

It also demands reform of the REGO system to stop greenwashing and direct investment into real renewables, alongside expanding smart meters and flexible tariffs to match green power supply with household demand.

But OVO isn’t just calling for change — it’s backing customers to act.

The company is ramping up installations of solar panels and heat pumps, letting long-term customers ‘bank’ panels or EV miles for the future and rolling out smart EV charging.

It’s also rewarding customers who shift electricity use to when renewables are abundant.

The next three years are critical.

OVO says it will revisit and update the transition plan every three years, in line with national net zero frameworks, to make sure promises become real progress.

SERVICES

ABOUT US

CLIENTS

INSIGHTS