Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of enabling community-owned small-scale energy generators to sell electricity directly to local consumers on (a) energy prices, (b) grid stability and (c) the transition to net zero.

Small-scale generation sites, including many community energy groups, can benefit from an exemption, which means that they do not require a licence from Ofgem to generate electricity or to supply to local customers.

Local energy is unlikely to impact national energy prices, because these are driven by wholesale markets. In addition, given the scale of generation, local energy is unlikely to have a significant impact on grid efficiency overall. The Government recognises that local energy will play an important role in achieving the Government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. To help deliver this, Great British Energy will support the development of up to 8GW of local and community energy projects.