OVO hosts energy summit to bolster government ambitions for community energy

• Last week in Bristol, local energy leaders gathered at OVO’s Headquarters for a Community Energy Summit
• Kerry McCarthy, MP for Bristol East and Minister for Climate, attended the summit, making the case for community energy as a vital part of the transition to a greener future.
• At the summit, OVO unveiled a new toolkit to support the development and financing of community energy 

29th July 2025, Bristol: Last week OVO and Kerry McCarthy, MP for Bristol East and Minister for Climate, hosted policy makers, industry experts and leading green businesses to discuss the importance of accelerating the build out of community energy.

Kerry McCarthy MP spoke about the importance of community energy in achieving the Government’s clean power ambitions, whilst providing tangible benefits to consumers and businesses in her constituency. 

Leading green pioneers spoke at the event including:

• Susie Leppard, Head of Renewables at OVO, 
• Matthew Clayton, CEO at Thrive Renewables, 
• Helen Martin, CEO at Bristol Energy Cooperative, and 
• Prina Sumaria, Net Zero Project Manager at Regen

Together, they explored how community owned energy, from solar to local wind, can tackle the climate crisis while supporting local jobs, resilience, and innovation.

In a major boost for grassroots climate action, OVO launched the ‘People Powered: How Communities Can Fund and Sell Their Own Power’, a resource to help people understand community energy. The guide offers practical advice on funding, regulation, and engaging residents, aiming to break down the barriers that often stall local initiatives. More information can be found in the toolkit.

Stephen Harris, VP Energy Markets and Optimisation, says: “Community energy has a critical role to play in the net zero transition – not just in generating clean power, but also in ensuring that communities benefit from the investment made into decarbonisation. We are thrilled to be launching our community energy toolkit, alongside our MP Kerry McCarthey, to help more people access the benefits of local, renewable power.”

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About OVO

In 2009, OVO was born to make energy better for people and the planet. Today, OVO is trusted by around four million customers with their home energy, EV charging, green tech upgrades, and more. 

OVO is getting the UK ready for a greener, fairer future – supporting new renewable power projects in communities across the country. Not only is OVO bringing low carbon tech into homes, it’s finding smart ways to cut costs for customers – making heat pumps, solar panels, and electric cars more accessible. Behind all this work is Plan Zero: the bold, science-backed sustainability strategy, which sets out how OVO will become a true net zero business by 2035. 

This progress can only happen with a culture fit for the future. OVO’s multiple awards include the Best Place to Work for Women in The Sunday Times’ Best Places to Work 2023, which also saw the company coming in the Top 10 for Very Big Organisation. 

OVO also won Company of the Decade at the BusinessGreen Leaders’ Awards 2020. 

OVO key facts

• UK Customers: four million 

• People: 4,500 colleagues with sites in London, Bristol and Glasgow. 

• Customer service

• • • Over 140,000 5* reviews on Trustpilot for energy supply.
    • £140m support offered to customers in need since 2022.

• Rewarding customers

• • Beyond: More than 750,000 customers have signed up to OVO Beyond
    • Over 14 Million EV miles banked
    • 47K solar panels banked
    • 44K Months of heat banked
  • Charge Anytime over: £18.3 million saved to date by customers.
  • Solar and heat pumps: Over 1,000 heat pumps installed and over 500 solar systems installed in UK homes.
  • World leading trials: 320+ OVO customer trialists on the world’s first and largest domestic vehicle-to-grid trial, run by us. 
  • Rewarding trials: Over £2 million in credit through Power Move, for using energy at greener times – saving over 600 tonnes of carbon.
  • Expert advice: Over 10,000 home visits completed by OVO’s Energy Experts, giving customers one-to-one guidance on making their home more efficient.