The aim is to make a net surplus after all paying a return to shareholders, servicing debts and paying operational costs – just like a conventional company, but note the word is “surplus” not “profit”.
This surplus will be used by LCE to fund projects that help improve energy efficiency in our area, and in particular reduce energy poverty.
LCE raises capital in three ways:
Sale of shares
Commercial loans
Grants
The diagram below shows how the money “flows”.
This capital is used to build renewable generation systems at selected sites. In many cases the output will be sold to the site owner, but if this is not possible or required it will be exported to the Grid at commercial rates.