Sorry not everyone was able to join the zoom, technology is not always reliable!

1. By coincidence, there is a government consultation on updating their 2021 Fuel Poverty Strategy, closing date 4^th April. Let me know if you’d like to contribute to this quite lengthy consultation as there is a Regen webinar scheduled for the 25^th March (tomorrow!).
   Although this is very much focused on supporting fuel-poor households Q8 asks “Are there any additional principles that you think should be considered for inclusion in the new strategy?”. I will be raising the following with Regen who are responding to the consultation.
   “Energy unit pricing should be progressive, encouraging lower consumption through energy saving and low-carbon self-generation. Unit price thresholds or taxation (e.g. VAT) could be set, lower for low consumption and higher for high consumption. This would also help those in fuel poverty who cannot take advantage of variable half-hourly tariffs, smart meters and smart appliances. Users with special needs or those of national significance would need additional support as is currently the case.”
   This is not a new idea, but one which the UK seems reluctant to adopt as a fair mechanism to encourage behaviour change to consume less energy, with appropriate ‘protection’. In fact, many tariff arrangements encourage the opposite, the more you consume the less you pay.
   We also agreed to outline this case more generally and see if it can be supported by our local MPs.
   
2. Grid Carbon Intensity (CI) is a topic we covered in the past, most recently at our January meeting, see item 6 of that meeting’s notes. We noted that several of the CI apps that inform users of their ‘local’ grid CI are no longer supported. The independent ones still available are:
   GridCarbon (find in your app store)
   NESO’s Carbon Intensity Dashboard
   Neither provide real ‘local’ intensities, rather they indicate the likely intensity based on the national Transmission grid’s CI, the only reliable source of this data. This typically accounts for ~70% of total generation (large generators/interconnects) with the remainder coming from our local Distribution grids, there can be large variations at a local sub-station.
   We discussed the recent shift in CI during the overnight ‘low tariff’ periods promoted by most electricity suppliers. Specifically, that this was on the increase compared to the equivalent day-time period. We’ll investigate the published data for the past 1-2 years to establish if this is true and to what extent is this happening.
   
3. It is good to see that other district councils are supporting their local town and parish councils with practical advice on mitigating climate change. The South Hams Guide to Net-Zero has some useful references and starts by encouraging the use of a Carbon Footprint tool, very much ACT’s advice from 2019 to local councils. We’ve not looked at the LGA’s tool, so cannot comment on how well it compares to ACT’s CFT.