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The government鈥檚 Local Power Plan must go further in addressing energy poverty and upskilling communities, argues The University of Manchester鈥檚 People, Place and Energy Research Centre (PPERC).

Tackling the public鈥檚 energy concerns

Amidst growing climate change concerns and exposure to fossil fuel price shocks, local energy schemes are beneficial for engaging the public directly in an energy transition, encouraging community cohesion, bringing direct financial benefits to participants, and providing energy for more remote locations.

However, PPERC鈥檚 response, Putting Power in its Place, states that the government鈥檚 plan also provides a major opportunity to address issues of energy poverty.

鈥淲hat we argue for is genuinely community owned, democratic energy projects which provide both direct returns to those facing energy poverty and debt but also opportunities to develop skills and greater community cohesion,鈥� said Dr Gareth Fearn, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow and editor of the paper.

Key recommendations

Their paper outlines five practical recommendations to ensure the LPP delivers on its full potential.

• Bring power to the people by proactively identifying communities most in need, building mechanisms for democratic ownership, creating bespoke regulation, and ringfencing funding for engagement and participatory energy planning.
• Address energy poverty by embedding it as a key funding criterion, targeting local schemes in areas with high energy debt, creating a single UK registry of community energy organisations, and engaging with existing community groups.
• Develop skills through community power and support job creation by creating a more inclusive, better-targeted skills strategy and integrating small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises.
• 精东传媒APP黄 the LPP to other plans, such as aligning the Warm Homes Agency with Great British Energy (GBE) Local, and guiding local authority planners on how to include community energy in local policy.
• Invest in the 鈥榦ne stop shop鈥� by ensuring energy and retrofit advice services have secure, long-term funding for delivery partners, creating a nationally visible advice helpline, and developing a comprehensive business- and community-focused energy advice service.

Creating local job opportunities

PPERC鈥檚 research suggests that proactively working with communities leads to better energy planning. Whilst community projects can give more people a stake in the future of energy, their paper suggests that the full benefits will only be realised if the LPP ensures clear, inclusive pathways into jobs and skills for locals. This includes addressing any structural barriers to pursuing training faced by marginalised groups.

鈥淲e see the LPP, and the expanding role of Great British Energy at a local level, as a means of bringing a range of different people into the energy transition in both materially and socially beneficial ways,鈥� said Dr Fearn.

Looking to the future

Since the Local Power Plan was announced in February, the political context and global energy pressures have continued to shift, further emphasising the need to strengthen energy security and ensure the plan delivers lasting benefits for the communities most affected.

By establishing protected mechanisms for public and democratic ownership over the projects, PPERC argues, the LPP will be able to maximise the potential of community energy to deliver much-needed impact.

Publication details

The full response and recommendations, Putting Power in its Place: A PPERC response to the Local Power Plan, can be read .