Good Energy and Power for People have called on MPs to support the Local Electricity Bill, in an effort to spark a community energy revolution as part of new campaign.
The law would create a new ‘Right to Local Supply’, allowing communities to sell locally generated electricity directly to local households and businesses.
As MPs return to Parliament, Power for People – an NGO focused on community clean energy – together with the supplier have urged them to back the pair’s Community Energy Revolution campaign for the Bill.
Currently, it is only possible to purchase electricity from nationally licensed utilities, and the cost and complexity of registering as such means it is impossible for small, local generators to compete.
If they could, it would help to rebuild local economies by ensuring money stayed in the area, and develop local clean energy infrastructure. This is particularly important in light of the challenges of recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic challenges.
Juliet Davenport, CEO and founder, Good Energy affirmed this by saying that locally delivered renewables can offer “major benefits to communities and their economies”.
“The problem is our energy system favours large power stations, and outdated rules are blocking progress.
“The Local Electricity Bill would change this by empowering communities to sell local energy directly to local people. And as more of these community projects get built, the money will stay in the local area, providing a boost to the rural economy.”
Already the initiative has cross-party support from 200 MPs, as well as 55 county and local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales having backed the campaign. In addition, 50 national organisations, including Community Energy England, Community Energy Wales, Community Energy Scotland, WWF, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the RSPB have voiced their support.
Director of Power for People, Steve Shaw, said that it was great to work with Good Energy on the campaign.
“The Local Electricity Bill, if made law, would unleash the huge potential for new community-owned clean energy infrastructure and for this to boost local economies, jobs, services, and facilities in communities across the country. We call on Parliament and the government to support it.”
Current± spoke to Shaw in July, following the Local Electricity Bill being successfully introduced into Parliament that month. He explained the challenges the current “antiquated” system created for the success of small and local energy companies, given the “impossible” costs of operating in the system.
