Northern Powergrid Foundation has unveiled its new three-year strategy, setting out a bold vision to ensure communities across the North East, Yorkshire, and northern Lincolnshire have the power they need to thrive in a rapidly changing energy landscape.
Northern Powergrid Foundation has unveiled its new three-year strategy, setting out a bold vision to ensure communities across the North East, Yorkshire, and northern Lincolnshire have the power they need to thrive in a rapidly changing energy landscape.
Established in the wake of Storm Arwen, the Foundation has already supported 120 organisations with nearly £2 million to strengthen local resilience. Now, as energy costs rise and the transition to cleaner energy accelerates, Northern Powergrid Foundation is expanding its mission to address the wider challenges facing communities and grassroots charities, providing access to increased funding and support, and harnessing more opportunities for communities across the region.
Their Mission – Helping communities turn energy challenges into opportunities.
The new strategy focuses on providing funding to communities most-in-need, either due to where they are geographically located, or as a result of income deprivation in their area. It is hoped this will help achieve a fair and equitable distribution of resources across the Foundation’s expansive region.
To do so, funding will now be provided across three strategic priorities:
Enhancing Resilience – helping communities to become more energy resilient, feel confident that their services can be run during emergencies, and improve the building they use so those services are more sustainable.
Creating Opportunities – giving communities the opportunity to find and deliver the solutions they need, unlocking the benefits of changes in the energy sector.
Overcoming Barriers – supporting small charities and local community organisations to manage rising energy costs and keep their doors open for those who need them most.
Already the Foundation’s flagship grants programme, their Energy Resilience Grants will continue to support organisations with one-off capital grants of up to £20,000 to install back-up power to their community spaces. For the first time, this can now also fund small energy‑efficiency improvements such as LED lighting and insulation, meaning, not only will communities have a safe and warm place to go to in emergencies, but the long‑term running costs of these vital spaces can be reduced, in turn leveraging additional community benefits. Expressions of Interest for this fund are already open on the Foundation’s website.
This strategy gives the Foundation more flexibility to respond to additional energy challenges, and a number of new grant programmes are currently in development. While these will be announced in due course, it is expected they will include new flexible grant programmes, some for smaller one-off awards, and others providing multi-year funding, meaning organisations can access the funding that’s right for their community.
Additionally, programmes will be developed to provide access to more innovative solutions as they develop, to ensure that the communities that are so often left behind are able to benefit from advancements in the sector.
Lord Docherty of Milngavie, Chair of the Board of Trustees, said:
“The way we generate, use, and share energy is changing rapidly. Our role is to make sure every community has the support it needs to thrive in an ever-changing energy future.
“Our new priorities reflect what we have heard from the communities we serve: that resilience, opportunity, and fairness are essential for a just energy transition. By focusing on these priorities, we aim to make a real and lasting difference – not just in how energy is used, but in how it empowers people and places.”
Jess Cook, Head of Northern Powergrid Foundation, added:
“We live in a changing world – it’s very different now compared to when we were first created. New challenges demand more from us, and we feel it is right for us to do what we can to support communities affected by those challenges and make that much-needed difference in our region.
“This strategy builds on our strong foundations and sets out a bold vision: to live in a world where our communities have the power they need to thrive. Together, we will support our communities to build resilience, overcome barriers, and embrace the opportunities created by a changing energy landscape.”
Alongside its expanded grant programmes, the Foundation will deliver enhanced impact through:
- Education and training to help communities better understand and manage energy;
- Partnerships and advocacy to amplify local voices and meet local needs; and,
- Volunteering and skills-sharing to strengthen community capacity.
Together, these efforts will ensure Northern Powergrid Foundation’s work delivers lasting, long‑term benefits across the region.
