Regen Briefing Note – May 2023

Community benefits for transmission infrastructure

 Insights for local authorities and community organisations: how to respond to the current consultation on community benefits for onshore transmission infrastructure

On what has been termed ‘energy security day’, the government launched an open consultation on their recommended approach to community benefits for electricity transmission network infrastructure, led by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Government guidance to set expectations for industry and communities to take a fair and consistent approach to the development of community benefits is to be published later this year, with the intention to incorporate feedback from this consultation.

This briefing note aims to support local authorities and community organisations to submit their own response to the consultation. It outlines what the consultation process involves, the key issues raised and Regen’s views on how to respond to the consultation most effectively.

We see responding to this consultation as a vital route to ensuring that local communities and the principles of a just transition are considered in the transition to net zero. We encourage local authorities and communities to respond directly, using the consultation as an opportunity to provide government with examples of successful community benefit schemes in your area, or what you would like to see from community benefit schemes.

We are also interested in hearing your views and using these as examples to bolster the response that we are writing from Regen’s perspective. Please share your views with Prina Sumaria at psumaria@regen.co.uk. and Rebecca Windemer at rwindemer@regen.co.uk.

More about the consultation:

The consultation acknowledges the critical role electricity networks play in connecting cheap, green energy from where it is generated to where it is needed. It states “communities that host this network infrastructure play a vital role in supporting the delivery of cheaper, secure and low carbon energy and it is only right that they can benefit from developments in their area”. Regen welcomes this consultation and the opportunity to feed into the proposed guidance around providing community’s for transmission infrastructure.

The open consultation process is a chance to give feedback before the proposals are enacted. Anyone can submit a response to the consultation online before 11.45pm on 25 May 2023.

“Upgrading transmission infrastructure will be essential if we are to meet our target of a net zero electricity system by 2035. However, we are currently not building the infrastructure at the pace and scale needed for net zero.

These large infrastructure projects will require working with many communities across the country. We need to focus on making sure no one is left behind and communities are able to meaningfully engage, participate and benefit from the energy system.”

Prina Sumaria, Local energy coordinator – Regen

Authors:

• Rebecca Windermer, Senior project manager
• Prina Sumaria, Local energy coordinator