THE GMB union is calling for a programme to convert domestic heating systems to the use of green gases such as hydrogen, which it says could support 100,000 jobs.

Plans to ban the installation of new gas boilers will leave millions of homes with huge bills and potentially weeks of disruption, the general union warned.

The problem will be worst in “red wall” areas of England, as the north-east, north-west, the West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber have the highest proportion of homes connected to the gas grid of all English regions, the union said.

People in the Northamptonshire town of Corby face the most intense disruption, since it has the most connections to the gas grid in the country — an estimated 99 per cent of households are linked to it.

Installing a basic electric heat pump costs £8,750 on average before VAT, equivalent to almost a third (31 per cent) of the average household’s entire annual income, said the GMB.

National officer Andy Prendergast said: “Ripping out existing boilers across 26 million homes across the UK is utterly absurd.

“It will lead to heating chaos for millions of people and general resentment towards the UK’s drive to net zero, especially if households are then forced to rely on unproven heat-pump technology.

“By investing in hydrogen technologies, we can use our existing gas network, instead of throwing it all away, and thousands of skilled gas engineers across the country will have jobs adapting the systems.

“Hydrogen is crucial to meeting our net-zero targets and crucial for ensuring a proper transition for gas workers.”

The issue will be discussed at the TUC Congress tomorrow.