Looking to the future
An exclusive interview with Craig Anderson, new CEO of Warm Wales Cymru Gynnes
Warm Wales Cymru Gynnes was established in 2004 by the national grid to meet its corporate responsibility to government and deliver benefits to one million fuel poor homes across the region. As the company moves forward and celebrates its 10th anniversary, Craig Anderson, newly appointed CEo, talks about the impact created by the organisation, the effect it has had on communities in wales, as well as what the future holds.
Craig remembers the first time it really hit home for him personally how much impact fuel poverty has on individual households as well as wider communities.
‘After Warm Wales Cymru Gynnes delivered a new and more efficient, heating system plus external wall insulation and new guttering to a house I asked the householder how the project had helped her. She told me it was fantastic because the improvements were not only saving her £25 a month in energy costs, but also there were no more mushrooms growing on her bedroom wall!’
Wales has three times more fuel poor households than the rest of the UK, and cases like this one serve to illustrate how an organisation like Warm Wales Cymru Gynnes, who can access funding for community projects, can make a real difference to people’s lives.
Craig is planning to build on the work of his predecessor Phil Roberts, by continuing to lead an ethical, ‘open book’ company that reinvests surpluses back into communities. To date, Warm Wales Cymru Gynnes has delivered over 80,000 energy saving and heating measures to more than 50,000 homes across the region. However, due to significant cuts in government ECO funding, the organisation is now working closely with the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to develop new funding models and to harness the £700 million of national funding that is still available over the next three years.
Adds Craig: ‘We will continue our work within local communities, and forge strong relationships with our partner organisations in both the public and private sector to develop and deliver projects.’
For more information visit www.warmwales.org.uk