7
Deferred
Amend National Policy Statements to clarify their relationship and hierarchy with strategic plans.
Recommendation
The Government should amend the National Policy Statements for energy infrastructure to clarify the precise relationship and hierarchy between these documents and the strategic plans which the proposed updates endorse. (Recommendation, Paragraph 25)
Government Response Summary
The government states it cannot pre-empt conclusions for plans still in development, deferring precise clarification and hierarchy details to future NPS updates and NESO's finalised methodologies once plans are published.
Government Response
Deferred
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The NPSs aim to provide clear guidance to applicants and decision-makers on how to apply existing policies. For plans and policies that are currently in development, we cannot pre-empt the conclusions of policy development processes. Further detail on, or signposting to, strategic plans that are currently in development is anticipated in future NPS updates, once such plans are published. As noted above, the NPS has been amended to highlight that modelling from the SSEP will feed into the CSNP. As set out in Ofgem’s CSNP guidance, NESO will define the relationship between each planning product through its methodologies. NESO also plans to provide more detail via its stakeholder engagement programme once the methodology is finalised.
Source
Committee
Energy Security and Net Zero Committee
Report
2nd Report - Gridlock or growth? Avoiding energy planning chaos
07 Jul 2025
HC 868
Addressee Bodies
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Timeline
Recommendation age
0.9 yr
Report published
07 Jul 2025