ACRE brings rural energy challenges

to the attention of government

Earlier this month, Samantha Niblett, MP for South Derbyshire, asked what steps were being taken to ensure rural households, particularly those not connected to the gas grid, were protected against sudden price increases.

Her written question was prompted following a meeting between her team and the team at Action with Communities in Rural England, in which many of the challenges facing rural communities were discussed.

Due to the conflict in the Middle East, families that rely on heating oil to power their homes, most of whom are located in rural areas, saw their usual price of fuel skyrocket, with some experiencing a cost increase of more than 100 per cent in early March.

Local oil buying schemes – which help residents to purchase fuel from trusted nearby suppliers, such as that which is supporting households in rural Derbyshire – have become a lifeline to many since the start of the war.

However, not every community has access to such schemes, meaning many families are still left feeling the pinch.

In a written response, Martin McCluskey MP, the Minister for Energy Consumers, said the government may introduce regulatory protections for off-grid homeowners, if a case for doing so was made by the Competition and Market Authority, which is currently investigating the wider heating oil market.

He also highlighted the government’s Crisis and Resilience Fund, which earlier put aside £27 million to support eligible off-gas grid customers in England with the rising cost of fuel, such as heating oil.

While all forms of support should be welcomed, ACRE has called for more equitable help, after describing the CRF offer as too small, too difficult to access and targeted solely at the most vulnerable users.

A second question – asking for mandatory community benefits in rural areas impacted by large-scale green energy developments, such as solar farms – was also tabled by Samantha Niblett.

The written response read: “Last year, the government published a working paper setting out proposals for mandatory community benefits for low-carbon energy infrastructure projects.

“We are in the process of reviewing responses and intend to publish a response setting out our next steps in due course.”

ACRE has been following this matter with close scrutiny for some years, but it has become a much more pressing concern in recent times.

The Middle East conflict, and its subsequent impact on the global price of fossil fuels, has reignited the argument for more domestic renewable energy, which – if brought to fruition – would see the associated infrastructure built predominantly in rural areas.

ACRE engages with parliamentarians from all political parties as part of its day-to-day work to deliver the overarching aim of its five-year strategy, which is to enable all rural communities to thrive.

A full transcript of the Q&A can be viewed online at hansard.parliament.uk.