Not-for-profit group tackling energy poverty hosts China visit
A Northampton not-for-profit, set up to help ordinary households cut their energy bills, is set to launch following a visit from representatives of its manufacturing partner in China.
The 22:23 Community Interest Company is developing a new approach to tackling energy affordability by removing commercial profit margins from technology that can help households reduce their ongoing electricity costs.
Representatives from energy technology manufacturer GeePower travelled from China to Northampton last week to meet founder Matt Stockdale and discuss the final stages before the organisation begins taking its first orders.
The visit also included talks about expanding the not-for-profit model beyond home battery storage to other renewable and energy-saving technologies in the future.
The principle behind 22:23 is simple: bring households together to increase buying power, purchase technology directly from manufacturers and supply it at cost. There are no shareholders or dividends, with the organisation established as a Community Interest Company to operate for public benefit.
Founder Matt Stockdale, the Northampton entrepreneur behind household brand Oven Pride, believes reducing the upfront cost of energy-saving technology could help address a fundamental problem in tackling energy poverty, the households that could benefit most from lower energy bills are often least able to afford the technology that can help them achieve it.
Matt said: “There is something fundamentally unfair about telling people they can reduce their energy costs by investing thousands of pounds they simply don’t have.
“We’re trying to find a different way. If we can use collective buying power and remove the commercial profit margin, we can lower the barrier and give more ordinary households the opportunity to take control of what they spend on energy.
“Having the GeePower team come to Northampton was a significant step towards making that a reality. We’re now getting very close to taking our first orders.
“But our ambition goes beyond batteries. If there are other technologies that can genuinely help households reduce their energy costs, we want to explore whether we can make those more affordable too.”
Matt has been testing the approach at his own Northamptonshire home, using cheaper overnight electricity to charge a battery and then powering his home from it during more expensive periods of the day. Over a 7-day period his entire electricity cost was just £15 to run the entire house and the car.
He is inviting local journalists and MPs to visit his home to see the system operating and examine his actual household energy costs and savings.
Matt added: “Ultimately this isn’t about selling batteries. It’s about asking how we can make the technology that reduces energy bills accessible to people who currently can’t afford it.
“If we can prove this model works, we hope government and others working to tackle fuel poverty will look at what we’re doing and consider how approaches like this could help many more households.”
On visiting the system in operation, Gee Power added: “Meeting Matt and the team behind The 22:23 Community Interest Company reinforced why we are so excited about this partnership. Home battery storage supplied at cost is a powerful idea, helping families reduce their energy bills while also shifting demand away from the times when the grid is under greatest pressure. One battery can make a difference to one household. Thousands can make a difference to the energy system. GeePower is proud to be working with a non-profit putting people, affordability and positive change first.”
The 22:23 is currently accepting pre-registrations ahead of taking its first orders.