Founded in 1980, the Group was established by former Conservative MP for Lanark and 17th Earl of Lauderdale, Patrick Francis Maitland, and The Rt Hon. Dr J. Dickson Mabon, former MP for Greenock and Port Glasgow and Labour Minister for Energy from 1976-79. It remains the only Parliamentary Group to cover all areas of the energy sector.
This diversity of expertise is evidenced by the broad range of subjects covered throughout the years by our monthly guest speakers and, more recently, by contributors to Energy Focus. Recent topics have included Electricity Market Reform, onshore and offshore wind, Demand Side Response, domestic heat, biomass, fracking, and European energy network integration.
Two social events in the year have always been well-supported by Ministers: our Annual Dinner in the House of Lords, and an Annual Summer Reception on the House of Commons terrace. In addition, Parliamentary visits have included excursions to many UK energy facilities, as well as some further afield in Tunisia and France.
To mark the Group’s 15th anniversary, Professor Ian Fells wrote a reflection on fifteen years of energy policy, providing an overview of his involvement with some of the major milestones. For our 30th anniversary, Professor Peter Pearson and Professor Jim Watson wrote a seminal booklet on the lessons to be learnt from 30 years of energy policy, published jointly with the Institution of Engineering and Technology. To mark this occasion, the Group was honoured by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Mrs Darling with a reception at No. 11 Downing Street.
These anniversary papers are held in the library of the Energy Institute, together with a full archive of Energy Focus.
With thanks to Christine Stewart Munro HonFEI, who provided secretariat services to the Group from its inception until October 2012, for providing the above history.
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