The Northern Powergrid Foundation, a registered charity established by Northern Powergrid, which has supported 60 projects in its first year, has launched its latest funding round to empower local communities across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire to become energy resilient.

Managed by a dedicated team, and overseen by a Board of Trustees, The Foundation provides grant funding up to £20,000, per project, to address energy-related challenges.

Projects can include funding programmes producing free energy efficiency measures, to supporting fuel poor households, to installing solar panels and battery storage at community hubs to improve resilience during planned or unplanned power cuts, or power related emergency events.

Supporting community organisations to deliver unique and exciting projects that will be self-sufficient for people today, and in the future, the Foundation’s funding can help with the creation or the expansion of community hubs within community halls and parish halls, across the region – helping them to play a vital role in keeping communities safe and warm.

Securing funding in the Foundation’s first year, Dipton Jubilee Centre in County Durham installed solar panels and storage batteries. The innovative technology helps generate clean and efficient power, while keeping their bills low. The storage batteries also allow the centre to operate as a warm hub to support local residents.

Graham Sinclair, Trustee at Dipton Community Association said: “During previous power outages we couldn’t open the centre, leaving many residents with nowhere to go. With Northern Powergrid Foundation funding, this allowed us to put in a solar panel system and battery back-up, creating resilience for our energy supply and allowing us to become more self-sufficient. Also, with an increasingly changeable climate, it gives us peace of mind that we can now open the centre and be a hub for our community and emergency services if and when they need us.”

Joe Docherty, Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Foundation said: “It’s been an exciting first year for the Northern Powergrid Foundation and we’re proud to support such innovative and impactful energy projects, which are at the heart of our communities. As energy is central to people’s everyday lives, and with so many challenges facing communities across our diverse region, we are committed to doing more. The latest funding round is now open for applications and we’re looking forward to helping more communities become energy resilient, support net zero transition and scale up innovative solutions to reduce fuel poverty."

Apply now

Funding applications are open now and accepted until May 13, 2024. Visit northernpowergridfoundation.com for more information, which includes Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), eligibility criteria, grant making policy and instructions to start your application.

Watch video and learn more

Find out how other communities have been supported by the Northern Powergrid Foundation:

Northern Powergrid Foundation - Community Stories video and read testimonials here: Grants Awarded | Northern Powergrid Foundation.