Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to enable community energy projects to sell energy directly to local households and businesses; and how this will support local communities to take greater control of their energy supply and reduce energy bills.

This Government is hugely ambitious about the role that community energy will play in achieving our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. On 10 February 2026, we announced the Local Power Plan: a joint DESNZ-Great British Energy (GBE) publication setting out the UK’s largest ever public investment in community energy, up to £1 billion.

The Department recognises the requests to take steps to better enable local energy markets and trading to lower bills and increase the resilience of the electricity networks.

The Department is investigating barriers to local supply, and is working with Ofgem, GBE and relevant stakeholders to find solutions that work in the best interests of local generators and consumers.

The Department is actively exploring policy options that will unlock Smart Local Energy Systems. Ofgem and Elexon’s work on code modifications, like P441, will help more community energy groups identify and understand the different routes to market in order to sell their energy. Industry feedback will inform the Draft Modification Report considered by the Panel on the 12 March leading to the Final Modification Report submitted to Ofgem on the 17 March.