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Under plans unveiled at the BRE conference this week, shadow energy minister Grant Shapps said consumers could have energy-saving work 鈥� such as insulation or a new boiler 鈥� done on their house for no upfront cost. The work could be worth 拢162.5bn to the industry.

According to Shapps, retailers such as Tesco and Marks & Spencer are interested in paying the cost of the work. The lender would be then be repaid gradually by the consumer through their energy bills. However, as householders would pay less, they would make an overall saving.

Shapps said the idea was a 鈥渘o brainer鈥�, adding: 鈥淯nless you quite literally enjoy burning your money, there鈥檚 no reason you would not want to go through with this.鈥�

Adding or modifying a charge on consumers鈥� energy bills would require a change in legislation, but Shapps said the party was prepared to drive it through parliament to make the plan workable.