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About the Micropower Council

About the Micropower Council

The Micropower Council is a cross-industry body whose membership comprises electricity and gas companies, manufacturers, trade associations, professional institutions, not-for-profit companies, non-government organisations, charities and private individuals, all of whom have a strong interest and expertise in the development of the micropower sector. The terms micropower and microgeneration are used interchangeably and both encompass micro-heat, micro-chp, and micro-electricity technologies.

The Micropower Council researches and promotes the benefits of microgeneration (heat and power technologies) and provides a respected and authoritative point of contact for government, regulators, opinion formers, and the general public on behalf of the microgeneration industry.

Objectives

The Objectives of the Micropower Council are:

to promote the development of public policies that encourage the wider use of microgeneration;
to develop channels of communications between Members, the sustainable development community, HM Government, the European Union and other international organisations
to research the use, benefits and technical development of microgeneration;
to identify barriers to the uptake of microgeneration and to develop strategies for remove them; and
to provide a forum for the exchange of information on, and experience of, microgeneration for Members.

The Micropower Council works closely with its members to identify areas of common interest and concern and to establish priorities for action.

The Micropower Council also undertakes and co-ordinates activities relating to microgeneration of mutual interest to its members and runs campaigns aimed at producing specific public policy outcomes in the collective interests of the microgeneration industry. In doing so, it engages with the government, regulators, parliamentarians, trade associations, academics, professional institutions, the European Union and other opinion formers as appropriate.

Key Successes

The Micropower Council and its predecessor organisation, Micropower Ltd, is the only industry trade body that maintains a focus on non-expert users of sustainable energy solutions.

We have a team of experienced political, public policy, regulatory and campaigning experts, and we are the prime industry mover behind the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Bill.

We made major contributions to the recent government Microgeneration Strategy which includes many of the measures we have been actively lobbying for. In addition, we were successful in lobbying for: VAT reductions for a number of micropower technologies; technical standards and changes in legislation that allow for smooth connection to the grid; significant simplifications in metering arrangements; and a number of other changes that provide financial incentives to encourage the uptake of micropower technologies.

We keep a strong focus on “getting the rules changed” in order to promote the interests of the micropower sector, and have also been either directly behind, or closely involved with, a number of other key changes that have moved the industry forward considerably.

Policy Development

The Micropower Council runs an active member-driven policy development programme, organised into a number a Policy Development Groups. Each of which is chaired by a Corporate Member and has detailed terms of reference agreed by the Council’s Executive Committee. Much of this work is focussed on developing proposals to support the implementation of measures proposed within the Government’s Microgeneration Strategy, launched in March 2006 . The Policy Development Groups are organised as follows;

Market Research and Targets
Planning, Building Regulations and Sustainability Code
Economic Incentives, Electricity technologies and CHP
Renewable Heat
Export Reward, Metering and Access to ROCs
Product Standards and Best Practice Guide

Memberships

We currently have four categories of membership which are as follows:

Corporate Members: commercial enterprises with an interest in promoting the wider use of microgeneration.
Associate Members: other enterprises and individuals with an academic or other interest in the wider development of microgeneration. This category of membership is not open to organisations seeking to obtain direct commercial gain from the wider use of microgeneration.
Organisational Members: Trade associations, charitable trusts and non-government organisations who have a clear and demonstrable objective to promote the wider use of microgeneration and who are representative of various interests relevant to the development of microgeneration.
Professional Institutions: professional bodies constituted under Royal Charter and having charitable trust status.

Corporate membership fees for 2008 are Ł17,000 plus VAT. Corporate Members, each of whom have a single representative on the Council’s Executive Committee, take policy decisions, collectively set membership fees, have discretion over election to and continuation of memberships, and produce proposals to support the strategic policy, management principles and the overall direction of the Micropower Council’s activities. The Executive Committee also elects the Vice President of the Micropower Council, appoint the Chief Executive, and scrutinise the day to day running and administration of the Micropower Council and the Micropower Council’s finances.

Other categories of membership do not warrant a fee, with the exception of the Associate membership which is currently Ł565 plus VAT. All categories of members are welcome to participate in all the policy development groups, attend Council meetings, receive discounts on events, and receive the Council’s twice monthly newsletter.

For more details about the types of membership read our constitution.

Potential members should also read: our code of practice

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Micropower Council we would like to hear from you. Please contact us by email at info@micropower.co.uk