Communities have been playing a pivotal role in this transition to a new system, proving that ideas, innovation and investment can and perhaps should come from the customers that end up using the power.
But community energy as a movement risks being left behind. The rapid changes in technology that impact how the UK’s energy system operates and is balanced are forcing a rewrite of the policies and regulations that govern it. Unless communities can articulate the value of the role they can play in the new world, they may not be able to play at all.
What will the project try to achieve?
The Power to Participate project aims to explore what and how community groups can offer the emerging electricity market. The Distribution Network Operators that are going to have an increasing role in overseeing how electricity is balanced across the network are the other side of the equation. This project will bring communities, DNO’s regulators and technology specialists together to:
a) Understand and quantify what value community led projects could bring to the network
b) What policy makers and regulators would need to be aware of when building the rules for these types of project
c) Start to build a picture of how communities can play a leading role in the new energy landscape
Who might be interested in the project?
• Anyone that pays an energy bill
• Community energy groups
• Network operators
• Government and regulators
• Technology providers