Regarding the recent issue of feed in tariffs, pre-accreditation was introduced to give groups without experience of renewable energy projects more certainty over the tariff levels they could expect, so as to help them meet their financing needs. I appreciate that this extra certainty has been valuable to organisations looking to deploy renewable energy. However, the costs of these tariffs are ultimately paid by customers through their energy bills, and since they were introduced in 2010 their uptake has been a good deal higher than the levels the Government thought it was reasonable to expect people to pay for. Pre-accreditation is one of the reasons why this has happened and so, following a public consultation, the Government has decided to end pre-accreditation from 1 October.
I understand that the Government nevertheless recognises the impact this change would have on community energy projects, and I understand that this would affect groups in Bath such as the Bath and West Community Energy. Therefore, the Government has left open the possibility of considering re-introducing pre-accreditation for all groups or on a more limited basis following its broader review of Feed-in Tariffs which is currently ongoing.