The quest for a Wales free of fuel poverty
For too long, many households in Wales have been struggling with fuel poverty.
National Energy Action’s Fuel Poverty Awareness Day is an opportunity to reflect on the realities of fuel poverty, and on what is being done to address the situation.
As part of the Social Enterprise Stakeholder Group, we responded to the Senedd Equality and Social Justice committee’s inquiry into fuel poverty.
Here’s our response, highlighting the ways in which community energy projects can re-balance the energy sector in the long term, and support communities suffering from fuel poverty in the short term.
Fuel poverty is an increasingly big part of a wider poverty crisis in Wales.
We support National Energy Action’s calls to tackle fuel poverty in a targeted way, based on accurate, up-to-date, robust data which looks at the whole poverty picture.
The community-owned energy sector is growing fast. These democratically-owned projects could be the answer to today’s unfair system where power is centred on major corporations.
Community Energy Wales reports that in 2022 there were 36 active community energy groups based within Wales, producing green energy, cutting fuel bills and pumping money and support into local communities.
These trusted community energy projects, anchored as they are within the local area, also roll out targeted advice to maximise energy efficiency and minimise carbon emissions, and deliver community transport and education projects where they are most needed.
An example is Datblygiadau Egni Gwledig (DEG), based in Caernarfon in north-west Wales.
They were recently nominated for the ‘Social Enterprise in the Community’ Award at the Social Business Wales Awards – check out this video to see the impact they make in their community:
DEG supports communities to cope with the rising cost of fossil fuels whilst supporting the transition to zero carbon.
They are part of the much wider green energy movement, delivering energy advice to residents and community organisations, reducing carbon emissions, creating local jobs in the green economy, re-balancing the energy sector, and helping families across Gwynedd to use energy in a more efficient way.
We support calls from Community Energy Wales to set up a new community wealth fund from a levy on energy developers for the use of natural resources, to put in place changes which enable local energy trading, and for further investment in community or local energy.
We would welcome the opportunity to work with Ynni Cymru and other stakeholders to support communities to develop new models of sustainable ownership.
We believe that new and growing community energy projects need specialist support and investment.
Communities need capacity, resources and awareness to start and grow these projects for long term sustainability. Government support in this area, as well as legislation embedding rights to community ownership of land and assets in Wales, are key.
The Welsh and UK Governments should continue to work in partnership to address fuel poverty. And in addition, the Welsh Government should seek to work with a coalition of other community-based stakeholders to develop a multi-faceted approach to tackling fuel poverty and re-balancing the energy market.
The social enterprise and community-owned energy sectors have unique skills, knowledge and trusting and trusted relationships with their communities. They are a vital partner in the quest for a Wales free of fuel poverty.
In the short term, we need to support people suffering from fuel poverty.
Community energy projects are already doing this in innovative, community-led ways.
In the longer term, we need to re-balance the energy market, with communities and community-owned energy projects at the heart of decision-making.
We believe that investing in the community-owned and social enterprise sector represents an investment in our collective energy resilience.
