13 Oct 2022

North West Community and local energy

Community Energy England appoints chair from North West

Electricity North West’s Helen Seagrave will serve another term on the Community Energy England (CEE) board following her re-election.

Seagrave is Electricity North West’s community energy manager and will also serve as interim-chair of the CEE board for the next 12 months.

Having joined the region’s power network operator in 2017 as Electricity North West’s first community energy manager, Seagrave has navigated a busy period for the business as the sector continues to grow.

This includes awarding more than £300,000 to groups and organisations who want to grow community energy in the region while also being responsible for leading an engagement and support programme for the community and local energy sector.

“I’m delighted to be serving another term on the Community Energy England board but also have the opportunity to stand in as interim-chair,” said Seagrave.

“It’s an excellent opportunity as community energy continues to grow each year and becomes a part of everyday life.

“The North West has extremely ambitious targets to meet net zero and community energy can play a key role in that. Being a part of this national board, which focusses solely on community energy can only benefit the region as the support we provide around community energy increases.”

Community energy refers to local and community-led projects or initiatives to reduce, manage, generate or purchase energy. This covers anything from providing energy saving advice to installing solar panels, heat pumps and electric vehicle charging points.

Community Energy England is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to helping community energy organisations create and implement new projects by advocating for a policy landscape that will support community energy and providing opportunities for community energy practitioners to connect, learn, share business models and help each other overcome obstacles.

Founded in 2014, CEE has a membership of more than 300 community energy organisations and a range of other stakeholder organisations.

To find out more about Electricity North West and community energy, visit www.enwl.co.uk/communityandlocalenergy.