The AM said that he had been contacted by a number of concerned constituents who wanted to know whether the decision to monitor and provide a presence at the events was one made by senior police officers or was one made by request by National Grid themselves. More importantly, they wanted to know what the cost was in time and policing hours to the Force and whether National Grid made any underwriting contribution to mitigate those costs or whether it was all paid for by the taxpayer.
Commenting, Mr George said:
"I think constituents have raised an important public interest issue here and I hope the Chief Constable of Dyfed Powys Police will be able to provide sufficient detail to answer their concerns.
"While there is no criticism of the Force or the operational deployment of officers at theses consultation events, there was nonetheless a heavy police presence at all of National Grid’s events over the summer and I think local taxpayers have the right to know how much it costs to actively monitor these type of events."
One of the candidates to be the first Police and Crime Commissioner for Dyfed Powys, Christopher Salmon, also hoped that local taxpayers were not picking up the tab for additional policing.
He said:
"The new Police and Crime Commissioner position is about building strong relationships with communities and ensuring value for money.
"The police are doing a fantastic job in balancing the right to protest and public protection.
" I hope that we can clarify the costs and ensure that, in difficult financial times, local taxpayers are not carrying an unfair burden associated with repeated consultations."