London Mayor seeks bids to run new energy business

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s Office is inviting the electricity market to come forward with proposals to run its new energy business. The Greater London Authority (GLA) is in […]

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s Office is inviting the electricity market to come forward with proposals to run its new energy business.

The Greater London Authority (GLA) is in the process of becoming the first public authority in the country to receive a “junior” electricity licence and expects to trade power by early next year.

The licence will allow GLA to buy electricity from small generators owned by London’s boroughs and public bodies and sell it to other public sector organisations such as the Met Police and Transport for London (TfL).

The Mayor’s Office said 12 boroughs and waste authorities – capable of generating around 76MW of electricity in total – already have schemes which could benefit. That is equivalent to the power used by around 76,000 households.

Copyright: GLA
Copyright: GLA

Mr Johnson (pictured, right) said: “Nurturing a new crop of small, low carbon energy producers across the capital is the key to a more secure, cost-effective and sustainable energy supply for us all.

“Investing in locally sourced power will help keep Londoners’ fuel bills down and drive innovation, jobs and growth in this city’s burgeoning low carbon sector.”

If the scheme proves successful, it could be also widened out to private sector businesses that want to sell or buy energy produced in London, with the potential to generate more than £8 billion of investment and around 850 jobs a year until 2025.

The Mayor has a set a target to produce 25% of the capital’s energy from local sources by 2025.

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