The House of Lords Industry and
Regulators Committee has issued a call for evidence for its
inquiry into the energy grid and grid connections.
The inquiry will focus on the regulatory, planning and funding
barriers to delivering energy infrastructure and the ability of
the Government's proposals to address them.
The Committee is seeking evidence from industry specialists,
businesses, local authorities and other relevant stakeholders on
a number of questions, including:
- what is your view of the National Energy System Operator's
(NESO) proposals to reform the connections queue?
- what barriers to delivering energy network infrastructure are
imposed by the planning and consenting system?
- what community incentives and/or obligations might best
enable grid expansion, and how should they be decided?
- how can environmental considerations be accommodated in
extending the grid network?
- are Ofgem's price controls and regulatory regime
appropriately balanced to ensure the necessary network investment
to meet the UK's clean power target?
- what incentives need to be introduced to encourage generation
and energy demand to locate closer to one another?
- Does the current number of regulators and bodies involved in
managing, overseeing and operating energy networks make it
difficult to deliver at the necessary pace?
Baroness , Chair of the Industry and
Regulators Committee, said:
“The Government has set an ambitious target aiming for at least
95% of electricity generation in Great Britain to be clean by
2030. Improving energy network infrastructure will therefore be
crucial to delivering its economic and climate objectives.
Our inquiry provides an opportunity to assess the detail and
feasibility of the Government's plans to update and reform the
grid, and to propose recommendations for refining and executing
these plans.”
The complete list of questions, plus details how to submit
evidence by the deadline of Friday 28 February,
can be found on the Committee's website.
Notes to editors
- The Government's 2024 Industrial Strategy Green Paper argues
that clean energy industries are a major driver of global growth,
and that the UK is well-placed to capture these opportunities.
The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan outlines that this will involve
large expansions in the generation of a range of energy
technologies, including onshore and offshore wind, solar,
batteries, hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, and a continued
commitment to nuclear generation.
To connect these new energy sources to the energy system, Great
Britain will require a “once-in-a-generation upgrade” of energy
infrastructure in the next five years. This will include around
twice as much new transmission network infrastructure to be built
by 2030 than has been built in the last decade.
