Agenda item

Council Draft Resolution
 

That Stroud District Council

(i) Acknowledges the efforts that this Council has made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote renewable energy;  

(ii) From Oct 1, half a million more households are at risk of Fuel Poverty, having to choose between heating their home and putting food on the table.

As the costs of fossil fuels soar this autumn, everyone is being hit by rising bills. Many are already desperate, and over 1.5 million people have also been affected by their energy supplier going bust. Meanwhile Universal Credit is being cut. Over three million people in the UK live in fuel poverty and this will increase by another 500,000 households when the Price Cap is raised on 1st October. Rising fuel bills will affect over 6000 households in Stroud District.      

(iii) Further recognises  

·         that very large financial setup and running costs involved in selling locally generated renewable electricity to local customers result in it being impossible for local renewable electricity generators to do so, 

·         that making these financial costs proportionate to the scale of a renewable electricity supplier’s operation would create significant opportunities for local companies and community groups to be providers of locally generated renewable electricity directly to local people, businesses and organisations, if they wished, and

·         that revenues received by such local companies or community groups that chose to become local renewable electricity providers could be used to help improve the local economy, local services and facilities and to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions;

(iv) Notes that the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, as a result of its 2021 Technological Innovations and Climate Change inquiry, recommended that a Right to Local Supply for local energy suppliers be established to address this;      

(vi) Accordingly resolves to support the Local Electricity Bill, currently supported by a cross-party group of 266 MPs and which, if made law, would establish a Right to Local Supply which would promote local renewable electricity supply by making the setup and running costs of selling renewable electricity to local customers proportionate to the size of the supply company; and

(v) Further resolves to  

·         inform the local media of this decision,

·         write to our local MPs, Siobhan Baillie and Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, asking them to support the Bill, and

·         write to the organisers of the campaign for the Bill, Power for People, (at Camden Collective, 5-7 Buck Street, London NW1 8NJ or info@powerforpeople.org.uk) expressing its support.

Councillor Davies was unable to attend the meeting and therefore Councillor Cornell was invited to propose the Motion on their behalf.

Councillor Cornell drew Members attention to key points including:

• The Local Electricity Bill recognises the benefits, both economically and environmentally, of empowering communities to be able to create and distribute their own renewable energy locally.
• Would result in local green jobs, more affordable electricity for communities and would help us to work towards our target of lowering our carbon emissions.
• Elected representatives have a responsibility to show solidarity and show support for solutions that would change situations in relation to fuel poverty and climate change.

Councillor Baker stated that the Bill had potential to meaningfully open the door for community electricity suppliers to play a part in reducing carbon emissions. It was specified that over 40% of the electricity we use was produced from natural gas and this was happening at a time when we were all committed to reducing carbon emissions and facing unprecedented rises in fuel costs. The Local Electricity Bill would remove the barriers that were preventing local energy suppliers from flourishing.

Councillor Jockel stated that he supported the Bill and that it was a logical rational and fair action that was being proposed and that community renewables had been stifled and it was urgent that it was changed.

Councillor Davies also confirmed that they were supporting the Motion, he stated that there would still be technical challenges with the grid but hoped that by supporting the Bill this could be improved.

Councillor Layfield gave 3 reasons as to why Members should support the bill:

• Economy – This would enable a local ecosystem of small energy suppliers to flourish.
• Independence – why purchase energy from elsewhere when we could generate it locally
• Resilience – fuel bills were rising and we needed to give our communities the opportunity to build resilience.

On being put to the vote the Motion was carried.