Associate Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group

This article is part of the Climate project of Spinwatch.

The Associate Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group, (PRASEG) is an All-Party Parliamentary Group for UK politicians and senior industry stakeholders that exists to promote sustainable energy issues in the UK Parliament and the wider political community.

The PRASEG website states:

We hold regular events in Westminster to discuss policy barriers to the development of the market for sustainable energy technologies - renewables, energy efficiency and combined heat and power. We have over 126 parliamentary members and 250 industry members.

PRASEG is based in Grosvenor Gardens house, sharing a building with the Combined Heat and Power Association, the UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy and other liberal green technology and carbon offsetting groups whose interests they represent.

Activities

According to its website, PRASEG monitors

Parliamentary activity and legislation that involves, or has an impact on sustainable energy. This activity includes Parliamentary questions, which can provide useful information from Government departments, Parliamentary debates between Members of Parliament and Early Day Motions which help to show the level of Parliamentary support for particular topics. In addition to this, a number of Select Committees investigate particular sustainable energy policy areas. Their conclusions and recommendations are published in the form of a final report.

PRASEG holds monthly seminars in Westminster, whilst Parliament is sitting. We normally invite a Government Minister or representative to discuss policy barriers to the development of the market for sustainable energy technologies - renewables, energy efficiency and combined heat and power.

PRASEG also run annual conferences with ministers (such as the biofuels conference), energy companies and green technologists, and host the 'sustainable energy awards'.

Parliamentary or business-led?

There are a number of discrepancies between the PRASEG website and the official register of the group on the Parliamentary web pages which make it difficult to tell to what extent the group is politically or business led.

The PRASEG website gives contact details as coordinator Rose Dickinson based at Grosvenor Gardens House, while the official parliamentary register gives Dr Alan Whitehead MP (the Labour party chair of the group) and an address and phone number at the House of Commons.

Both websites fail to mention the existence of a number of PRASEG 'directors' (according to companies house) sourced from the involved companies (such as David Green and David Porter).

The website itself is generally sparse and does not link to any of PRASEG's multiple reports, awards, conferences, updates or other events.

Events

PRASEG holds a number of conferences, and fringe events at party political conferences. The 2008 Biofuels Conference included speeches from Jim Fitzpatrick MP .

Supporting members

• BG Group plc
• British Wind Energy Association
• Carbon Trust
• Centrica plc
• ConocoPhillips European Power Ltd
• E.ON UK
• National Grid
• npower renewables
• Shell International Ltd
• RWE npower

Funding

Though the PRASEG website states supporting members as above, the House of commons website states (as of Nov 18th 09) that:

'The group's activities are funded and administered wholly by PRASEG Ltd. (and)

• Baxi Group £10,000,
• BG Group £2500,
• British Wind Energy Association £2850,
• Centrica £2950,
• ConocoPhillips UK (Ltd) £2500,
• E.ON UK £2725,
• Energy Saving Trust £5500,
• National Grid £2800,
• npower Renewables £10,500,
• Shell £2500,
• Synnogy £1000,
• The Carbon Trust £2500,
• Tufton Oceanic £1065 '

Source watch claims:

The group's activities are funded and administered wholly by PRASEG Ltd, a company that derives its income from three sources: subscription fees (£500); money raised from ticket sales to events organised as part of the group's work; and sponsorship.

Ordinary members

Covers a range of large industries and energy companies, and a few NGOs and environmental groups.

Officers

• Dr Alan Whitehead Labour MP. Chair

Vice Chairs:

• Malcolm Bruce Lib Dem MP
• Andrew Robathan Conservative MP
• Desmond Turner labour MP
• Co-ordinator: Kirsty Walton

• Treasurer: Lord Corbett of Castle Vale
• Secretary: Andrew Stunell

Directors

• David Green of the UK Business Council For Sustainable Energy is listed by companies house as an association director, since 1999.
• as is David Porter of Association of Electricty Producers and the Energy Industries Club. (though neither of these people are mentioned on PRASEG websites).

Qualifying members

As of 18th Nov 2009 the House of commons website names 20 qualifying MPs covering each political party:

Labour:

• Bill Olner
• Frank Cook
• Bridget Prentice
• Martyn Jones
• Bob Blizzard
• Mark Lazarowicz
• Austin Mitchell
• David Drew
• Colin Challen
• David Chaytor

Conservative:

• Tim Boswell
• Nigel Evans
• John Gummer
• Tim Yeo
• Oliver Letwin
• Tim Loughton

Lib Dem:

• Tom Brake
• Michael Moore
• Dr Evan Harris

Scottish National Party:

• Mike Weir

Contact

Address: PRASEG - Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group, 4th Floor, 35-37 Grosvenor Gardens, London, SW1W 0BS

Registered address as above

Registered in London

Company No 3809596

Tel: +44 (0)20 7233 5887

Fax: +44 (0)20 7630 9122

Email: info@praseg.org.uk