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UW January 2021 HR single pages

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20 | JANUARY 2021 | UTILITY WEEK Policy & Regulation Event Decentralised power to the people We need a locally led energy transition but central government is nervous of delegating authority. That was the consensus of thought leaders at a roundtable hosted by Utility Week. J ust before the end of 2020 the local energy network UK100 launched a major new campaign to boost the ambition and rigour of locally focused decarbonisation plans. At the launch event an impressive array of leaders from industry and local gov- ernment were united in their firm belief that the UK's race to deliver its 2050 net zero tran- sition can be achieved only through greater empowerment of communities and regions to develop plans tailored to maximise their own geographic, economic and social characteristics. These leaders, including COP26 climate action champion Nigel Topping, Bristol mayor Marvin Rees and Siemens UK & Ire- land CEO Carl Ennis, do not represent an isolated community. In the year-and-a-half since the UK legally bound itself to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 the drumbeat from advocates of local energy has become steadily stronger, with influ- ential individuals and institutions adding weight to the message that achieving a more sustainable future for the nation and society as a whole needs to begin "in places". Their reasoning for this is clear. A "bot- tom-up" transition, which allows commu- nities to devise their own pathways and set their own pace towards a commonly held net zero target, has better chances of gaining buy-in from local citizens. It also gives legiti- macy to the necessary investments involved and prepares the ground for consumers to play a more proactive role in tomorrow's energy system where supply and demand- side capacity have equal value. Then, too, locally devised decarbonisa- tion plans, created by those with a close understanding of the technology choices that will play best to the area's existing natural, industrial and skills attributes are "The understanding that local is essential in order to meet net zero is not really fully accepted in Whitehall." "There are huge variations in local plans and we need to bring focus on to making sure all of these plans are affordable, achievable and effective. They need to work together to add up to a coherent whole." "How do you create a national sense of vision while allowing localities to find their own way – which will mean costs and benefits appear in different ways and certainly at different times in different places?" "We need to stop worrying so much about short-term unfairness. We have unfairness across all sorts of aspects of charging right now… There are a lot of differences in the underlying costs of serving different customers at the moment and we don't get too hung up about it." What attendees said

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