New community-led project to explore bringing free or low‑cost energy support to North East households

The Social Virtual Power Plant (Social VPP) project has been awarded £150,000 from Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF).

Led by LCP Delta and the Centre for Energy Equality on behalf of Northern Powergrid, the project will explore how to improve access to energy flexibility for households and SMEs across the North East of England who may otherwise be unable to participate. The initiative ultimately aims to provide free or low‑cost batteries to households, helping them store energy and use it during peak times to reduce bills through time‑of‑day tariffs

The project will assess the technical, social and financial feasibility of the proposed approach, which involves installing home batteries and enabling flexible energy use through smart software. LCP Delta and the Centre for Energy Equality will also identify the areas with the greatest need and how the Social VPP project can best support them.

Both organisations have outlined the key features of the proposed Virtual Power Plant model:

• Community‑led approach: The programme will be delivered with community energy partners to ensure solutions reflect the needs and priorities of local people.
• Optimised energy management: The project will use smart tools to identify areas where the grid is under pressure, highlight the communities most affected, and adjust the system in real time.
• Reinvesting profits locally: Any excess profits will be reinvested in the project to ensure benefits are shared across the community.

In addition to supporting households and small businesses, the project is expected to deliver significant benefits for the local energy network:

• Reduce strain on the local grid by managing energy demand more effectively
• Lower the need for expensive infrastructure upgrades and improve overall grid efficiency
• Enhance energy resilience by reducing outages and providing a more reliable service

Emma Carr, Senior Consultant at LCP Delta and Project Lead: “Energy flexibility is essential to delivering a fair and affordable energy transition. By helping households and local businesses use and store energy more intelligently, we can reduce bills, ease pressure on the grid and make better use of low‑carbon power when it is available.

“The Social VPP demonstrates how flexibility can be delivered in a practical, community‑focused way and highlights the important role it can play in building a smarter, more resilient energy system for the future.”

Dan Hoare, Innovation Project Lead at Northern Powergrid, said: “As demand for electricity grows, flexibility will play an increasingly vital role in helping balance the grid. This project opens the door for customers and communities who otherwise face barriers to participate, creating new opportunities while helping us manage the network in a smarter, more sustainable way.”

John McHugh, Co-founder at Centre for Energy Equality, said: “At CEE, our mission is to ensure fair access to sustainable and affordable energy for every community. The Social Virtual Power Plant is about putting that principle into practice by prioritising households who are often excluded from the benefits of energy flexibility. By combining community leadership with smart energy management, we can reduce bills, strengthen local resilience and support a more efficient and reliable grid.”