MPs call for community energy to be added in to the Great British Energy Bill

Last week, MPs debated the Government’s new Great British Energy Bill, the legislation that will establish the Great British Energy company – a much heralded future part of UK greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts.

The Bill lists four objectives for Great British Energy, but nowhere is there mention of supporting the growth of ‘community energy’ – the term for groups of people organising to build, own and run local renewable energy generation schemes.

We have been campaigning for the remarkable potential for growth in community energy to be realised, so that local communities across the UK can enjoy the social and economic benefits their schemes bring, whilst transitioning to a clean energy system.

A key change need for this would be enabling community energy schemes to sell their power directly to local people. The Local Electricity Bill, which we authored, would do this, if made law. Before the election, we brought 326 MPs on board in support of it. The Labour leadership gave it their support too: Ed Miliband, then the Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, put down two amendments (numbered New Clauses 53 and 58) to the Conservative’s Energy Bill last year that were almost identical to the Local Electricity Bill. You can read them on pages 42 and 44 of the official Parliamentary amendment paper here. 

Labour also pledged in their pre-election 5 Missions for Great British Energy to “make available up to £600m in funding for local authorities and up to £400m low-interest loans each year for communities” and writing this on page 54 of their election manifesto,

“Local power generation is an essential part of the energy mix and reduces pressures on the transmission grid. Labour will deploy more distributed production capacity through our Local Power Plan. Great British Energy will partner with energy companies, local authorities, and co-operatives to install thousands of clean power projects, through a combination of onshore wind, solar, and hydropower projects. We will invite communities to come forward with projects, and work with local leaders and devolved governments to ensure local people benefit directly from this energy production.” 

Given all these fantastic words you might think the Government’s new Bill would do all these things, yet it does none of them. Ed Miliband is now the Secretary of State, the most powerful position on energy within the Government. Yet there has been no mention of the promised community energy funding and no mention of enabling community energy groups to supply their power locally. At the very least this new Government Bill, introduced by Ed Miliband himself, should simply include community energy as an objective of Great British Energy.

We therefore are calling on MPs to seek for community energy to be directly included in the Great British Energy Bill and to support an improved version of the Local Electricity Bill that we plan to have reintroduced into Parliament soon.

Meanwhile, at the debate last week, as a result of constituency lobbying from our supporters, several MPs stood up and called on energy ministers to include community energy. 

Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, said, 

“It is especially disappointing that the new Government have failed to include anything on community energy, given their welcome words in the House about how important it is to enable community energy—I hear it again and again. It is no longer about words; we now have a Bill before us in which we can make this happen. … Without the inclusion of community energy, the Bill will be a major missed opportunity. In the past, the now Secretary of State and his Ministers have been vocal champions of community energy. In a previous debate on making Britain a clean energy superpower, the Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, the hon. Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks), stated:

‘One of the missions of GB Energy will be around the idea of community-owned power.’

“…Last year, the Secretary of State himself tabled two enabling amendments on community energy to the then Energy Bill; his new clause 53 specifically would have required large-scale energy suppliers to offer a special agreement to small-scale energy companies. 

“Community energy schemes need to receive a guaranteed, discounted price for the clean electricity that they contribute to the energy system. If the costs of selling their power to local households and businesses were proportionate, many more community energy schemes would become financially viable and we would get many more than we have; I urge the Government to really look at our concerns and what we can include in the Bill to make these regulatory changes. Clause 3 is the ideal place to add community energy and ensure that it is one of Great British Energy’s objects.

“To conclude, we Liberal Democrats welcome the steps being taken to restore British investment in renewable energy after the mess left by the previous Government. These steps will help us to bring down energy bills, create high-quality jobs, increase our energy security and, of course, reach net zero. However, there is a clear gap in this Bill for community energy, despite Labour’s manifesto committing to it, and we urge the Government to listen to our concerns.”

And Sarah Champion, Labour MP for Rotherham, said, 

“The research and innovation taking place every day in Rotherham gives it a unique role to play in this Government’s ambitious energy plans, and there is an open invitation to the Secretary of State and Ministers to visit the opportunities in my constituency. I ask the Minister to include community energy as one of the specific objectives in clause 3 of the Bill. An inquiry by the Environmental Audit Committee outlined the enormous contribution that community energy schemes can bring, while reducing dependency on international energy imports.”

And Dave Doogan, SNP MP for Angus and Perthshire Glens, said,

“Community energy is essential to how we make our journey to net zero, but like much else there is scant detail on that. If the Government had properly consulted the community energy sector—they can probably still do that—they would know that access to consumers is one of the principal drawbacks to developing these schemes. It is disappointing that no lateral thinking is being applied on how to connect the will to create community energy with the market. Ofgem has created an environment where one can deliver an extraordinary example of community electricity generation, but trying to connect with consumers is almost impossible. GB Energy, if it is nothing else—and it does appear to be not much else—could have been part of the gig economy. It could have been the Uber of retail energy. We could have bought community energy and passed it on to the consumer base, but that is not going to happen. The Government want to mirror the ambition of Vattenfall or EDF, but those companies, which are actually companies, sell to the retail market. Will the Government update us on the paltry amount that the previous Government allocated to community energy? It was £10 million just for England. What will GB Energy deliver?”

And Adrian Ramsay, Green MP for Waveney Valley, said,

“The third area I want to highlight is community energy, to which other Members have drawn attention today. Like other Members, I have a community project in my constituency; it is in the village of Palgrave, where there is a community-owned wind turbine on the playing fields. I heard the Secretary of State talk about community energy earlier, so perhaps we just need clarification of the Government’s intention, but the legislation does not appear to explicitly mention community energy, despite its huge potential. I hope that this is an unintended omission, and that the Minister or the Secretary of State can confirm that there will be community energy representation on the governance structures of Great British Energy, notably from the co-operatives that are such a big part of the sector.”

This was an excellent show of support from both opposition and Labour MPs. We thank these MPs and, if you made the effort to write to your MP – thank you.

Two energy ministers were present at the debate. The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband MP, said,

“Great British Energy will deliver our local power plan, working with local authorities, combined authorities and communities to deliver the biggest expansion of support for community-owned energy in history.”

And Mr Miliband’s energy minister, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Michael Shanks MP, said, 

“Several Members raised the question of community energy, which is at the heart of the Bill. Local power generation is an essential part of the energy mix, ensuring that energy projects deliver not just a community benefit but the social outcomes that local communities need. Many Members mentioned that. ... Community energy also reduces pressures on the transmission grid and the need for expensive investment, so community ownership will be critical. Great British Energy will deliver a step change in investment in local and community energy projects, putting local authorities and communities at the heart of the energy transition.”

Warm and welcome words from the Government, though no commitment to do what was asked. We will, therefore, continue to organise for community energy’s inclusion as the Great British Energy Bill progresses through Parliament.

The new Government must walk the talk.