The Boiler Upgrade Scheme Just Had Its Biggest Month Ever. The £9,000 Oil Grant Is Nearly All of the Jump.
July was a record: 8,150 applications, 81% up on June. Most coverage stopped there. The government's own statistics show 3,037 of those applications came through the £9,000 off-gas-grid route that opened in July, which is 37% of the month and very close to the whole of the increase.
The Solar Planning Rules Changed on 27 August, and Plug-In Panels Cannot Go on a Wooden Fence
Plug-in solar became legal on 27 August. The same day, a separate Order changed what you may install without planning permission — and it rules out the two places people most obviously put a plug-in panel: a wooden fence and a timber-clad wall or balcony.
VAT Comes Off Electricity in Great Britain on 1 October. In Northern Ireland It Stays at 5%.
The VAT cut announced in July and arriving on 1 October is a Great Britain measure. The Order made on 7 September zero-rates domestic electricity in England, Wales and Scotland and moves Northern Ireland to a new line in the reduced-rate schedule, where it stays at 5%. The government's own guidance for households does not say so.
October's Energy Price Cap: Up 4% to £1,723, and the VAT Cut Is Already Inside That Number
Two announcements on the same day, 26 August, and they are being reported as if they add up. They do not. The £45 the VAT cut saves is already netted into the £1,723 cap. The rise is gas; electricity is close to flat and its standing charge falls.
Plug-In Solar Becomes Legal on 27 August 2026 — What the Regulations Say, and What They Don't
The rules are real and they are dated. Plug-in solar is not legal yet: the instrument was made on 16 July 2026 and comes into force on 27 August. Here is what it permits, the 800W ceiling, the condition most coverage skips, and why MCS places these kits outside its scope.
Warm Homes: Local Grant in 2026 — Two £16,600 Cost Caps, Not One £30,000 Figure
The Warm Homes Plan is usually described with a single per-property maximum. The guidance that governs its consumer route does not describe one — it sets two caps, by measure type, that councils may average across a project.
Heating With Oil or LPG? The Boiler Upgrade Scheme Pays £9,000, Not £7,500 — Until March 2027
Most coverage of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme quotes a flat £7,500. For one group of households it is £9,000 — and unlike the scheme itself, the extra £1,500 has a deadline in March 2027.
UK Home Energy Grants in 2026: Every Scheme That's Actually Open
The grant landscape changed in 2026, though not the way this piece first reported it. ECO4 runs to 31 December 2026 and the work must be finished by then. Here is what is genuinely open, what each scheme pays, and who can claim it.