Standard content for Members only
To continue reading this article, please login to your Utility Week account, Start 14 day trial or Become a member.
If your organisation already has a corporate membership and you haven’t activated it simply follow the register link below. Check here.
The new chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Committee said he is set to engage with the energy industry on which policy issues should be pursued by the committee.
Angus MacNeil stepped into his role last month without contest and with little prior experience of the energy industry following a groundswell of support for the Scottish National Party.
But MacNeil has hit back at critics, in a column for Utility Week, saying he intends to continue the “excellent work” of the previous committee by continuing to provide robust cross-party scrutiny which is evidence based and underpinned by industry feedback.
“The policy decisions made at Westminster on [energy policy] will need careful scrutiny. Under my chairmanship I will ensure that the ECCC continues to be rigorously evidence-based,” he said.
He said the committee will “proactively engage with stakeholders about the issues we should investigate”, and focus on evidence-based scrutiny of energy policy which achieves a cross-party consensus.
“I am looking forward to working collaboratively with colleagues from all parties in the best interests of consumers, businesses and the environment,” he added.
The committee includes five Conservative MPs (Glyn Davies, James Heappey, Dan Poulter, Antoinette Sandbach and Julian Sturdy), four Labour MPs (Ian Lavery, Melanie Onn, Matthew Pennycook and committee veteran Alan Whitehead) as well as Liberal Democrat Alistair Carmichael.
Utility Week understands that the committee is set to meet privately on Wednesday 15 July.
The full column is available in the 10 July issue of Utility Week, and online here.
Please login or Register to leave a comment.