Community energy amendment debated at Great British Energy Bill Committee stage

The Government’s Great British Energy Bill is moving quickly through Parliament. Last week it passed Committee stage, where a small group of MPs debated it line by line. Its next House of Commons debate, called ‘Report stage’, will be on Tuesday 29th October.

We are calling for ‘community energy’ to be included amongst the objectives of the Great British Energy company. At Committee stage, we organised for an amendment to be introduced to the Bill to this effect. It was backed by a cross-party group of 70 MPs, including 12 Labour MPs – a remarkable number given amendments usually attract just a few.

When it came to the vote on 10th October, the amendment did not pass. Despite the strong support, it got voted down, with all 11 Labour MPs on the Committee, including the Minister, Michael Shanks MP, voting against it. 

The Minister said that he did not think including community energy in the Bill was appropriate. Our concern and the concern of the community energy sector is that, unless it is in the Bill, future Ministers or Governments or Chief Executives of Great British Energy may decide not to pursue it and thus the full benefits of local energy may not be realised.

Nevertheless, Labour MPs and the Minister on the Committee all said repeatedly how important supporting community energy is and stated that it will be a priority for the Government’s Great British Energy company. For the full debate, see here.

The Minister, Michael Shanks MP, said:

“As I have said in a number of answers in Parliament and in our session on Tuesday, support for community energy is something that I absolutely share, and it is clearly shared by a number of hon. Members across the House. It will be an integral part not just of Great British Energy, but of the Government’s entire energy strategy. That is why the local power plan is a key part of Great British Energy’s delivery model, and it goes broader than GB Energy, to every other part of Government policy on energy.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar pointed out, it is essential that communities are involved. It is not a nice-to-have; it is critical. If we are to build the infrastructure we will need in future, we want communities across the country to reap the rewards. A key part of that is community-driven projects and community-owned projects.”

Furthermore, the Minister explicitly referred to £1 billion of funding for community energy as part of the Local Power Plan policy, which is the first time any minister has formally stated this funding promise in Parliament, or indeed anywhere, since the election.

He said:

“The community energy hubs that already exist are certainly something that we want to build on. The £10 million commitment is welcome. We have committed more than £1 billion to the local power plan over this Parliament, but we are building on what is already there, such as the local hubs.”

We have organised for a slightly modified version of the amendment to be introduced for the Bill’s Report stage on Tuesday 29th October. It still does the same thing – ensures that GB Energy will support community energy.

The more MPs that sponsor the amendment, the greater the chance of persuading the Government to include it in the Bill. We are urging our supporters to contact their MPs and ask them to add their signature.

Please write to your MP now: Ask them to sign Pippa Heylings MP’s cross-party amendment that will include supporting community energy in the Great British Energy Bill.