The number of people seeking to take advantage of the government's flagship Green Deal energy efficiency scheme rose dramatically last month, with 7,465 energy efficiency assessments completed during March.
According to the latest monthly Green Deal figures, there was a 332 per cent increase in the number of assessments conducted by providers in March, compared with February.
Just over 1,700 assessments were lodged in February, the first full month of operation for the scheme, compared with more than 7,400 in March.
The figures mean that 9,268 assessments have now been conducted since the scheme was launched at the end of January. DECC also confirmed there are now 108 officially certified Green Deal assessor organisations, employing 1,003 Deal advisers, marking a significant increase on the 77 assessor organisations that were certified at the end of February.
Commenting on the publication of the latest Green Deal statistics, Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said: “It is clearly very early days but the latest figures on the Green Deal show that this new market is gathering real momentum. 9,268 Green Deal assessments taking place in just over two months is very encouraging and shows a genuine interest from consumers.
"The Green Deal gives people the opportunity to improve the efficiency of their homes, make them warmer and protect themselves from rising energy bills.
“The number of businesses getting on board continues to rise steadily, underlining that the Green Deal offers fantastic new commercial opportunities.
"Forty-eight firms are now authorised as providers, with a further 831 registered to carry out installations and over a thousand individuals registered to offer assessments. Overall this is a really promising start for the Green Deal.”