Norwich council to power homes with renewable energy

Norwich City Council has announced Roar Power, a partnership between the council and the French energy supplier ENGIE, will launch later this year, offering renewable energy to homes across the region.

The scheme will offer customers a range of tariffs with 100% renewable energy offered as standard, as well as an option to choose to receive 100% renewable gas.

Cllr Kevin Maguire, Norwich City Council cabinet member for safe city environment said: ‘Doing what we can to ensure people can heat their homes affordably shouldn’t come at the price of the environment. Climate change is a global issue and one that we all have a responsibility in addressing.

‘It’s tremendously important to us that we have entered into partnership with a company that understands this and is able to offer renewable energy at an affordable price.’

Uniquely, Roar Power will also offer a social tariff, giving people who can afford to pay extra the chance to do so if they wish.

The voluntary extra payments received from this tariff will go towards helping people in the region who are suffering from fuel poverty.

The council said that the scheme will help it add to its current services aiming to tackle fuel poverty, which include installing energy-efficient boilers and solar panels in council homes.

Kevin Dibble, Divisional CEO of homes and enterprise for ENGIE UK, said: ‘Roar Power has a simple aim of offering affordable renewable energy for local people with the incredible benefit of helping the community at the same time.

‘ENGIE brings valuable expertise in low carbon energy supply and regeneration, and we are looking forward to working alongside Norwich City Council in this exciting new energy partnership.’

Norwich follows other UK cities such as Bristol and Nottingham in taking responsibility for its region’s energy supply.

Bristol’s in-house energy supplier Bristol Energy has been tasked with bringing together projects from the council’s City Leap initiative to give the city a smart, interconnected energy system.