SCE’s Director Mike Kinghan recently attended National Grid’s BIG Conversation Midlands roundtable, a regional event focused on the future of the local electricity network.
The session brought together organisations and voices from across the region to discuss how future investment in the electricity network can support local growth, resilience and the transition to clean energy. Discussions explored key issues including affordability, sustainability, smarter networks, flexibility, customer experience and how the network can prepare for increasing demand from housing, transport electrification and industry.
Mike attended on behalf of Staffordshire Community Energy and said the event provided “a great insight into how National Grid sees the energy world, particularly around the balance between affordability, resilience and sustainability.”
A key theme from the session was the role that community energy can play in supporting a more flexible and resilient energy system. Mike noted that National Grid expressed strong interest in the potential for community energy to help reduce pressure on the electricity network by generating more clean power locally and making better use of existing infrastructure.
Staffordshire Community Energy was also featured during the event as a community energy case study, following previous contact with Mike after one of SCE’s award wins last year.
Mike said:
“I was amazed and delighted that Staffordshire Community Energy was presented as National Grid’s community energy case study. They had contacted me after one of our awards last year, so it was great to see that being used as part of the conversation.”
The roundtable was part of National Grid’s wider engagement programme to ensure regional and local perspectives help shape future investment decisions.
For Staffordshire Community Energy, the discussion reinforced the growing importance of community-led clean energy in creating a fairer, more resilient and locally responsive energy system.
