The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), launched by the government to promote low carbon heating systems, has reported spending around £50 million during its first year of operation.

The scheme, designed to incentivise the installation of eligible heat pumps and biomass boilers in residential and small non-domestic buildings across England and Wales, faced challenges in attracting widespread participation.

The findings from Ofgem’s first annual report on the scheme indicate that approximately 10,000 grants were paid out following the installation of these low carbon heating systems by the end of March 2023.

According to the report collectively, these grants were worth over £50 million while the allocated total budget for the first year was £150 million.

The report also revealed disparities in uptake across different regions. While South West England led with the highest number of BUS installations at 19.6%, the North East of England accounted for the lowest proportion with only 2.7%.

London and Wales followed closely behind, reporting 4.0% and 6.2% of the total installations, respectively.