THE Housing Executive warned against potential abuses of the proposed Renewable Heat Incentive scheme in a consultation document, it has emerged.
In response to a consultation carried out by the then Department of Trade, Enterprise and Investment (DETI), the Housing Executive raised a number of concerns.
At the outset of its response, the housing body said that it agreed "with the decision to introduce a RHI tailored to the needs of Northern Ireland."
However, it said that it did not agree that all heat should be metered under the proposals.
The Housing Executive replied: "Not entirely. Surely "the more energy you use, the more money you get" is not compatible with energy conservation.
Instead, it suggested a "standard payment based on output of heat source, type of technology and assumed heating hours for the year."
It said: "This would cut down on administration costs and simplify the whole payment system and avoid the incentive to over-use energy.
"It would also be important to confirm that the unit is still in operation and has not been replaced."
The Housing Executive also disagreed with the choice of regulator Ofgem to administer the scheme, and called for inspections of claimants.
It said: "The Housing Executive would suggest using a locally based administrator such as the Utility Regulator, Energy Saving Trust (NI) or Action Renewables. A local administration is more likely to be easier to contact and deal with all aspects of the NI RHI.
"There is no mention of an independent quality assurance check. It would be good practice to carry out a quality check on a percentage of installations to ensure a high standard of installation is being achieved and public money is being well spent.
"Regular planned reviews should be undertaken to ensure any changes of circumstance are taken account of."
It added: "The Housing Executive would welcome the opportunity to give evidence on renewable heat to a future meeting of the Renewable Heat Strategy Group."
The Housing Executive said that it did not feel it was "in a position" to comment on the RHI scheme for the industrial sector.
Meanwhile, the former Department of the Environment also said it supported the introduction of the RHI scheme in its response to the consultation document.
A DOE official wrote: "In general the Department welcomes the development of a renewable heat incentive. I believe that the RHI has the potential to accelerate the roll-out of more sustainable heating systems with knock-on benefits in the areas of climate change, air quality and waste."
