Why Local Energy Matters

We are far from meeting the climate change targets set by both our government and international agreements such as COP26. We must urgently decarbonise our power grid, and reduce the influence of fluctuating overseas fossil fuel prices.

A key way to tackle this is through community-scale renewables. They provide green, clean, energy that stimulates local economies and reduces our dependence on skyrocketing overseas fuels. The problem is that unfair regulations and disproportionate costs are stifling opportunity.

If you want to buy your electricity from local renewable sources such as the nearby school that has solar panels on its roof, you cannot. We all buy our electricity from a utility company that sources it from anything connected to the National Grid, be it a field of solar panels in Flintshire or a coal-fired power station in Yorkshire.

This is where the Local Electricity Bill comes in. The Bill - if made law - would establish a Right to Local Supply, promoting local renewable electricity supplies by making the setup and running costs of selling renewable electricity to local customers affordable and proportionate to the size of the supply company.

The campaign for the Bill is run by Power for the People and is supported by a cross-party group of 300 MPs, including Liberal Democrats.

Personally, one of the (many) reasons that I support the bill is that when I am out and about speaking to local residents, I hear time and again about the crippling impact of spiking energy bills on people's household finances. Local renewable energy production would be a way to bring down energy bills and cut our reliance on fossil fuels.

I encourage you to read more about the Bill on the Power for the People website, sign up to show your support and talk to friends and family about it encouraging them to add their support.

Zöe Franklin
Parliamentary Candidate for Guildford, Cranleigh and our villages

22nd April 2022