UK100, the UK’s only cross-party network of local and regional authority leaders committed to ambitious climate action, today welcomed the government’s announcement on energy bill discounts for communities hosting new clean energy infrastructure while calling for investment in public engagement to build genuine community support.
The government has announced that households within 500m of new or upgraded pylons will receive electricity bill discounts of up to £2,500 over 10 years, alongside community benefit funds worth up to £530,000 per substation.
Responding to the announcement, Christopher Hammond, Chief Executive of UK100, says, “We welcome the government’s commitment to ensuring communities hosting new clean energy infrastructure receive tangible benefits through lower bills. This recognition that communities deserve a stake in the clean energy transition is an important step forward.
“However, financial incentives are only one side of the coin. Our extensive work with local authorities shows that building genuine public support for the energy transition requires meaningful engagement alongside personal and community benefits. With almost half of Britons overwhelmed by conflicting climate information, it’s time to empower local authorities — who are consistently rated as the most trusted tier of government on climate action — to work more closely with their communities.
“We look forward to continuing our work with DESNZ on the UK’s first-ever public participation strategy, which should help shape how that engagement works. Ultimately, nothing beats being in the community speaking and listening to people.”
UK100’s Local Climate Engagement programme, delivered in partnership with Involve, has supported scores of local authorities in developing better approaches to community engagement on climate action, with an Inclusive Climate Action Toolkit and Resource Hub demonstrating positive outcomes where authorities have used interactive, collaborative rather than top-down approaches.
To maximise the impact of the new community benefit package and support the government’s clean energy mission, UK100 calls for:
- Dedicated funding for local authorities to deliver meaningful public engagement on energy infrastructure projects
- Support for councils to develop Local Area Energy Plans with genuine community input
- Integration of local-led engagement into the UK’s first-ever public participation strategy on climate action
