London’s deputy mayor for the environment Shirley Rodrigues has said that the mayor’s flagship energy scheme ‘Energy for Londoners’ is to go live by April.
Rodrigues made the announcement at today’s Energy Storage & Connected Systems event in London, where she also revealed that the entity was experimenting with the use of battery storage technologies to help alleviate fuel poverty in the capital.
Rodriques revealed that early activity will see it purchase surplus electricity from combined heat and power generators and sell it to Transport for London for use in its extensive estate in the capital, before extending its activities into other technologies.
“We’re starting off small to make sure it works but if successful, we’re keen to roll it out to more organisations and purchase solar power… What licence lite does is fill the void left by ever diminished subsidies for renewable and low carbon electricity which central government has been cutting for several years. It will provide a stable price and market for electricity and help provide the business case for future developments,” she added.
Energy for Londoners is to act as an independent energy supplier for the capital’s homes and businesses and was a principal pledge within mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s election campaign last year.
Prior to the election Khan said Energy for Londoners would bring a “renewed focus” to the capital’s sustainability drives, aiming to “expand the use of solar across the city” and support communities and boroughs that wanted to establish their own energy generation schemes.
The supplier would source surplus renewable electricity from across the capital and supply it to businesses and homes while simultaneously working with local authorities and housing associations to help increase energy efficiency and domestic renewable deployment.
The mayor’s office confirmed last July that it had applied for an energy supply licence and had commenced work “on the nuts and bolts of this package of work”, however little information has been forthcoming since then.
