New bill to encourage community ownership of national grid
11 Jun 2012
A new bill has been proposed which would create a right of first refusal for local communities to take ownership of the national grid in their area should it be put up for sale
The draft bill also proposes a licensing process for new grid infrastructure, which, for example, might be required where a major new housing development is built. Ofgem would be tasked with licensing the new grid infrastructure and the local community would be given a right to tender for the licence to run the grid.
Gareth Thomas MP, chair of the Co-operative Party, introduced the Energy Generation (Planning and Right to Invest) Bill.
The party believes putting energy into communities’ hands is key to reducing energy bills and to promoting the growth of green energy.
A spokesperson said that since the current government came to power, the UK has slipped from third in the world for investment in green growth to thirteenth.
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