PEC In Action

Our Energy Team has provides free support to anyone in Plymouth who is in or at risk of fuel poverty. 

The support we offer can be a vital lifeline for residents in very difficult circumstances.  For residents in vulnerable situations, our support means one careful step at a time to move from crisis to resilience.  

Each case provides valuable insight into the pressures facing our community.

One in four are seeking advice to lower unaffordable bills.

Unmanageable fuel debt is the second highest concern.

One in ten are entangled in disputes with energy suppliers.

 

Improving the energy efficiency of Plymouth's homes is a big task.  

Buildings were responsible for 28% of Plymouth’s carbon emissions in 2019. 

Seven out of ten homes need to be ‘retrofitted’ with energy upgrades to reach EPC Grade C. Achieving this target would cut carbon emissions for the city by 12% and save £72.5 million in energy costs, boosting our local economy. Better homes also mean healthier living and fewer damp and cold issues.

PEC established its Future Fit service in 2020 to increase the scale of local domestic retrofit through:

Fostering trust: People need clear impartial information on their options for improving the energy performance of their homes, and to be able to trust in the work that is completed in their home.

Boosting ability: Plymouth needs a system for large-scale improvements with skilled businesses, support, data, and expertise. Local businesses need to understand their role in this market to invest in enhancing skills.

PEC Renewables fund, install and manage our community-owned renewable energy installations.

Our work on local energy generation in 2023 was set against a context of rising energy prices, rising interest rates, and rising construction costs. The latter two points made for exceptionally challenging conditions to bring forward and progress potential projects - such as Chelson Meadow.

However, rising energy prices have also demonstrated the benefit and value community owned renewable assets can bring. Firstly, through the energy savings to our host buildings – and therefore the positive impact on the budgets of those organisations. Paying less for their energy than current market prices is indisputable. Secondly, the higher price that we can sell our renewable energy for leads to higher surpluses which directly increases the amount of money we are able to reinvest in the community – profits which in a commercial scheme would be lost in dividends.

In order to reach net-zero by 2050, we need to change the way we build new homes. Many houses being built today will need expensive retrofit work in the near future - this seems crazy!

PEC Homes was set up because we know clean energy generation is not enough to meet the challenge of climate change. We also need to reduce demand on the grid. This means more efficient housing that needs less energy to start with. We are doing this through our Community-led Affordable Net Zero Home scheme at Kings Tamerton.

By creating genuinely affordable, healthy homes in the heart of Plymouth, our community can be part of the solution to tackle fuel poverty and climate change.

Our family of organisations purposely uses a cooperative, member-led structure to allow community representatives to take leadership on local solutions to the climate emergency and the energy transition.

But this doesn't happen on it's own - we know that for people to get involved we need to inspire and make connections across the city. Our engagement work raises the profile of local energy solutions.

By giving local people ownership in positive solutions (like renewable energy generation and zero carbon, affordable homes) then we can make change happen locally.