Agenda item

Having complied with the advance written notice requirement in Standing Order 18.1 and the subject requirement in Standing Order 18.2 of the Chichester District Council Constitution the attached motion will be proposed by Cllr Sharp and if duly seconded it will then be discussed at this meeting.

The Chairman invited Mrs Sharp to move her motion. Mrs Sharp moved her motion which was seconded by Mr Brown (please note Miss Barrie had briefly left the room but returned for the remainder of the item).

Mrs Sharp then outlined her motion below:

That Chichester District Council:

(i) acknowledges the efforts that this council has made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote renewable energy;  

(ii) recognises that councils can play a central role in creating sustainable communities, particularly through the provision of locally generated renewable electricity;  

(iii) further recognises  

• that very large financial setup and running costs involved in selling locally generated renewable electricity to local customers result in it being impossible for local renewable electricity generators to do so, 

• that making these financial costs proportionate to the scale of a renewable electricity supplier’s operation would create significant opportunities for councils to be providers of locally generated renewable electricity directly to local people, businesses and organisations, and

• that revenues received by councils that became local renewable electricity providers could be used to help fund local greenhouse gas emissions reduction measures and to help improve local services and facilities;

(iv) accordingly resolves to support the Local Electricity Bill, (supported by a cross-party  group of 115 MPs in the previous Parliament) and which, if made law, would make the setup and running costs of selling renewable electricity to local customers proportionate by establishing a Right to Local Supply; and  

(v) further resolves to  

• inform the local media of this decision,

• write to Gillian Keegan, our local MP, asking her to support the Bill, and
• write to the organisers of the campaign for the Bill, Power for People, (at 8 Delancey Passage, Camden, London NW1 7NN or info@powerforpeole.org.uk) expressing its support

The Chairman invited Mrs Lintill to read a statement provided by Mrs Plant the Cabinet Member for the Environment to respond. Mrs Lintill thanked Mrs Sharp for her motion. In the statement Mrs Plant explained her understanding that the Bill would allow local people to purchase renewable energy directly from local suppliers, such as a local solar farm, rather than the supplier exporting the electricity to the grid and the purchaser buying the electricity back via utility companies from the grid.  Currently local suppliers can only supply directly to the purchaser if there is a private wire arrangement.  This is what West Sussex County Council have proposed for some of their solar PV projects,  but this is only feasible where there is a short distance to the end customer as the supply wires will also need to be paid for. The Bill will enable the set up and running costs of selling renewable electricity to local customers proportionate by establishing a Right to Local Supply, effectively making the costs and complexity of being able to sell local-generated energy to local people proportionate to the size of the community energy companies.  If enacted by Parliament, it would give generators of electricity the right to become local suppliers and therefore be able to supply their renewable electricity to local people.  It gives the task of setting up this right to OFGEM, the energy market regulator.  OFGEM will be responsible for ensuring that local suppliers face set-up costs and complexities proportionate to the scale of their operation. She explained that if the motion was carried, the council would be committed to the specific actions under part (v), namely inform the local media of the decision to support the motion; write to Gillian Keegan asking her to support the Bill and write to the organisers of the campaign for the Bill, Power to the People, expressing our support. She then confirmed that Chichester District Council declared a Climate Emergency last summer and had also published an Interim Climate Emergency Action Plan. She considered the support of this Motion consistent with those commitments.

Mrs Lintill requested clarification of whether the motion is section 4 and 5 with section 1, 2 and 3 as background information. Mrs Sharp confirmed that she would be willing to remove some sections of the statement. Mrs Lintill suggested that the motion should be section 4 and 5 as sections 1, 2 and 3 are not fully understood at this stage.

Mr Sutton then drew attention to the fact that following the General Election there is no current Local Electricity Bill so the wording should read ‘consider supporting it’ instead. He added that the Council cannot require Mrs Keegan as MP to support the Bill and as such the wording should read ‘consider supporting’.

Mrs Purnell proposed that the motion be deferred. This was seconded by Mrs Apel.

Mr Brown then drew attention to the support given to the motion by Mrs Plant in her statement read by Mrs Lintill.

Mrs Shepherd confirmed that a resolution cannot be made on a Bill that does not exist. 

Mr Oakley commented that a deferral would be appropriate.

Dr O’Kelly proposed that the motion be supported subject to the following amended wording for paragraph 4:

Accordingly resolves to support the introduction of the Local Electricity Bill, (supported by a cross-party group of 115 MPs in the previous Parliament) and which, if made law, would make the setup and running costs of selling renewable electricity to local customers proportionate by establishing a Right to Local Supply.

Mrs Purnell then proposed that the motion be referred to the Environment Panel to report back to the Cabinet. This was seconded by Mr Sutton.

In a vote Mrs Purnell’s proposal was carried.

RESOLVED

That the motion submitted by Mrs Sharp relating to supporting the national community energy campaign be referred to the Environment Panel to report back to the Cabinet.