The Chief Executive of the Office of Fair Trading, Clive Maxwell, has been appointed as Director General of the Consumers and Households Group at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

The DECC’s Consumers and Households Group is responsible for improving energy efficiency and helping both domestic and business customers to obtain the lowest possible energy bills.  Both of these are considered to be key projects for the Government in their fight to reduce both energy bills and energy usage.

Mr Maxwell’s appointment is seen as an important part in achieving the Government’s aims of improving energy efficiency schemes such as the Energy Companies Obligations (of which the Affordable Warmth Obligation is one) and the Green Deal.

Under the Affordable Warmth Obligation, householders can apply for a new energy efficient boiler to replace an existing inefficient and faulty one.  Qualifying criteria include the householder receiving certain State Benefits and either owning or renting a private property, i.e. not in social housing.