Local Electricity Bill

Dear constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about community energy and the Local Electricity Bill. I appreciate the issues you raise and I am pleased to be able to back the Bill.

I strongly support the development of local and community-owned renewable energy generation and supply, which can play a vital role in bringing about the change we need to see if we are to meet our climate change targets. Yet as the Power for People campaign highlights, at present there are too many barriers to producing and supplying energy at a local level. I have therefore believed for some time that we need to provide greater access to energy markets for local projects.

It is for this reason that I am pleased to support the Local Electricity Bill, which I believe would make a significant difference for the future of local energy in this country. Enabling people to sell the energy they produce to their neighbours, friends and local businesses would be a tremendous step forward in the recognition of what we need to do when it comes to delivering the low-carbon future necessary to tackling the climate crisis.

As you will know, the Government has opposed the Local Electricity Bill. It argues that removing the barriers currently faced by community energy would create distortions in how our electricity system operates. However, I believe this ignores the change we need to make to this existing system as a whole to make it work for the low-carbon and renewable energy of the future, and that making the grid more friendly for local energy is an important part of this. I believe the Government should be promoting the Bill as part of a wider plan for community and local energy.

The Bill’s Second Reading is scheduled for 10 December. However, the Bill is some way down the list of MPs’ Bills to be considered that day and is therefore unlikely to be able to make much progress. Nevertheless, I can assure you that I will continue to back efforts to press the Government on this issue and to call for local energy to be given the support, promotion and backing that it deserves.

Thank you once again for contacting me.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Dowd MP