Enabling sustainable electrification of the UK economy

Environmental Audit Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 4 May 2023 Closed: 24 May 2024 Parliament page
The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) is to launch a new inquiry examining the challenges and opportunities arising from the increasing use of electricity to power the economy of Net Zero Britain. Read the call for evidence for more information about this inquiry.
28 Recommendations
25 Conclusions
1 Report
5 Oral sessions
5 Events
Activity timeline 12 events
31 Dec
2024
Report published
24 May
2024
Report published
12 Mar
2024
Oral evidence
12 Mar
2024
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
7 Feb
2024
Oral evidence
7 Feb
2024
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster
17 Jan
2024
Oral evidence
17 Jan
2024
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 6, Palace of Westminster
15 Nov
2023
Oral evidence
15 Nov
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
19 Jun
2023
Oral evidence
19 Jun
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 5 sessions
12 Mar 2024
View on parliament.uk
Eleanor Warburton · Ofgem Emily Bourne · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Rt Hon Graham Stuart MP · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
7 Feb 2024
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panel one; panel two
Chris Hewett · Solar Energy UK Ed Porter · Modo Energy Kate Gilmartin · British Hydropower Association Olivia Powis · Carbon Capture and Storage Association Peter McCrory · RenewableUK Professor Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith · University of Oxford Susie Elks · E3G
17 Jan 2024
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panel one; panel two
Barbara Hammond MBE · Low Carbon Hub IPS Ltd Councillor Bridget Smith · District Councils Network Craig Dolan · Heat Pump Association Dan Stone · Centre for Sustainable Energy Dr Rebecca Windemer · Regen Rachel Fletcher · Octopus Energy Tom Glover · RWE Generation
15 Nov 2023
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panel one; panel two
Akshay Kaul · Ofgem Claire Dykta · National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) Craig Dyke · National Grid Electricity System Operator Eleanor Warburton · Ofgem Gareth Hislop · Scottish Power Energy Networks Roisin Quinn · National Grid Electricity Transmission Susana Neves e Brookes · Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution
19 Jun 2023
View on parliament.uk
panel one
Joanna Campbell · National Infrastructure Commission Nick Winser CBE · Independent Government Advisor
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainable electrification of the econo… HC 278 24 May 2024 53 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
17 results
Clear
7 Recommendation Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
Address urgent barriers to long-term energy storage through government investment and policy reforms.
The Government must address as a matter of urgency the barriers to long term energy storage for the UK to ensure it can provide its citizens with clean and reliable energy during periods of limited renewable generation. This can be … Read more
Government Response
The government's response focuses on Ofgem's work with the ENA to make connections queue data publicly available monthly, which does not directly address the broader policy and investment barriers to long-term energy storage or the suggested regulatory reforms.
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8 Recommendation Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
Publish comprehensive energy storage strategy by 2025, detailing required capacity for net zero.
By the end of 2025 at the latest, the Government must publish an energy storage strategy, underpinned by robust analysis, that indicates to the market the capacity and type of both short-term and long-term energy storage which will be required … Read more
Government Response
The government did not commit to publishing an energy storage strategy by 2025; instead, it outlined ongoing work by Ofgem and NESO on connections reform to accelerate connections for renewable generation and storage projects.
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10 Recommendation Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
Publish rationale and analysis for energy transition policy changes, assessing net zero impact.
We are nevertheless concerned that recent Government adjustments to the incentives for take-up of these technologies by consumers may affect the capacity of the grid to deliver the benefits of flexibility in the short- to-medium-term: this in turn may affect … Read more
Government Response
The government deflected the recommendation to publish rationales and impact assessments for policy changes by detailing Ofgem's role in setting electricity network price controls and implementing agile investment mechanisms to support strategic grid investment.
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13 Recommendation Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
Expedite Ofgem's programme to deliver market-wide half-hourly settlement and report progress.
We further recommend that Ofgem expedite its programme to deliver market-wide half-hourly settlement. We expect Ofgem to provide a progress report in response to this recommendation, setting out current barriers to delivery of this objective, identifying measures to overcome them, … Read more
Government Response
The government's response does not address the recommendation for Ofgem to expedite market-wide half-hourly settlement or provide a progress report. Instead, it discusses financial support and incentives for electricity network manufacturing supply chains, promising an update on wider incentives shortly.
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14 Conclusion Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
Recent grid connection reforms have not yet reduced queue times, which continue to lengthen.
Ofgem and the Energy System Operator have sought to improve grid connection timeframes through reforming grid queue procedures and introducing milestones. Early evidence suggests that the reforms introduced to date appear not to have yet had the immediate and radical … Read more
Government Response
The government's response focuses on the creation of the Office for Clean Energy Jobs to address workforce skills and training in the energy sector, rather than directly addressing the committee's observation that grid connection reforms have not yet reduced connection times.
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15 Conclusion Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
Limited visibility of grid connections queue; recent reforms may initially lengthen waiting times.
Overall visibility of the grid connections queue is limited, and it is possible that the immediate effect of the reforms introduced has been to lengthen the connections queue as developers react to the new regime. While we welcome the Ofgem … Read more
Government Response
The government's response discusses the definition of green jobs and the role of the Office for Clean Energy Jobs in developing skills and monitoring the clean energy workforce, without addressing the committee's observations on grid connections queue visibility or the impact of recent reforms.
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16 Conclusion Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
Delays in grid connections for renewable projects impede energy security and investor confidence.
Delivery of renewable energy projects at pace, and securing their connection to the transmission network, is essential to achieving the generation capacity required under the Government’s strategy for energy security. The connection of generation capacity to the grid is being … Read more
Government Response
The government's response addresses proposals to increase planning fees and support for local planning authorities, funded by the stamp duty surcharge, rather than directly detailing further work to reduce grid connection delays for renewable energy projects.
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17 Conclusion Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
Sustained government and regulator action essential to reduce grid connections queue for renewables.
Sustained and consistent action by Government and the regulator will be required to manage the grid connections queue down so that commissioned renewable generation projects are able to deliver outputs to the grid without unreasonable delays.
Government Response
The government response focuses on initiatives to improve planning capacity for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects through the Planning Advisory Service, recruitment funding, and cost-recovery, rather than directly addressing how it will manage down the existing grid connections queue for commissioned renewable generation projects.
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18 Recommendation Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
Actively monitor grid connection reforms and advance demonstrably ready projects to the front of the queue.
We recommend that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Ofgem actively monitor the progress of connection reform initiatives and the delivery of the transmission capacity required to facilitate new grid connections, and, where appropriate, streamline the measures … Read more
Government Response
The government's response focuses on accelerating infrastructure delivery through a new Bill and promoting renewable energy via changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, but does not specifically address monitoring existing connection reform initiatives or Ofgem reviewing its milestone queue reforms to advance ready projects.
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20 Conclusion Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
Implement Connections Action Plan, prioritising renewable energy and decarbonised applications connections.
The Government and Ofgem must implement in full the changes proposed in the Connections Action Plan. This must entail, for example, the prioritisation of short- term grid requirements, so as to incentivise network operators to prioritise renewable energy connections. The … Read more
Government Response
The government's response outlines a planned national public awareness campaign for early 2025 to promote the importance of new electricity network infrastructure, which does not address the recommendation to implement the Connections Action Plan in full or prioritise renewable energy connections.
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21 Conclusion Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
Scope exists to accelerate grid expansion by authorising experienced third-party connection builders.
We recognise the rationale for the current restrictions on the commissioning and construction of connections to regional substations. The GB electricity network must be constructed to certain minimum standards which ensure coherence, reliability and interoperability, under arrangements which provide long-term … Read more
Government Response
The government's response focuses on reviewing mechanisms for delivering community benefits and mitigating visual and community impacts from new electricity transmission infrastructure, rather than directly addressing the committee's suggestion of authorising experienced third parties to build connections to accelerate grid expansion.
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24 Recommendation Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
Examine electricity network price controls and modify to incentivise immediate network reform.
We recommend that the Government examine the operation of the current ED2 (distribution) and T2 (transmission) price control periods to establish whether the measures are driving the necessary connections and increases in capacity. If not, these price control periods should … Read more
Government Response
The government's response focuses on Ofgem's role in regulating NESO and developing the Regional Energy Strategic Plan (RESP), which will feed into future price control processes, but it does not commit to examining the operation of the current ED2 and T2 price control periods or to re-opening or modifying them to incentivize immediate network reform.
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26 Conclusion Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
UK energy infrastructure supply chains remain fragile due to fierce global competition.
Energy infrastructure supply chains are often very fragile and are affected by fierce global competition. The shoring up of these supply chains serving the UK’s electrification requirements will require urgent and significant anticipatory investment to ensure that the rollout of … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges challenges in supply chain resilience and states it will review the need for an electrification roadmap and set out its full approach in a forthcoming Industrial Strategy. It also highlights existing initiatives and Ofgem's plan to introduce an advance procurement mechanism from early 2025.
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27 Recommendation Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
Create and publish an electrification supply chain roadmap to ensure energy sector resilience within three months.
We recommend that, alongside managing investor confidence through market certainty, the Government work with businesses in the sector to create an electrification supply chain roadmap, setting out how the Government will seek to ensure that the energy sector supply chain … Read more
Government Response
The government states it will be reviewing the need for an electrification roadmap, rather than committing to create and publish one, and plans to set out its full approach to supporting UK supply chains in a forthcoming Industrial Strategy.
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29 Recommendation Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
Provide financial incentives to establish essential electricity infrastructure supply chain elements in the UK.
We recommend that the Government work with industry to provide incentives, including financial support, to ensure that essential elements of the electricity infrastructure supply chain are based in the UK, so as to counter competitive incentives from other countries racing … Read more
Government Response
The government states that clean energy industries are a priority growth sector and that it will set out its full approach to supporting UK supply chains in the forthcoming Industrial Strategy, without committing to immediate financial incentives for basing essential supply chain elements in the UK.
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42 Recommendation Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
Expedite implementation of community benefit proposals, develop toolkit, and regularly review effectiveness
We recommend that the Government expedite the implementation of its current proposals for community benefits to be considered as part of community engagement in the delivery of certain transmission projects. A toolkit of illustrative community benefits and potential levels of … Read more
Government Response
The government is currently reviewing how to effectively deliver community benefits for electricity transmission network infrastructure, considering a combination of direct benefits and community funds, with further details to be set out shortly. It also mentions NESO developing Electricity Transmission Design Principles.
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53 Recommendation Deferred
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainabl…
Provide a clear definition of 'subject to security of supply' condition in 2035 target
We support recommendation 2 of the April 2023 report of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, on Decarbonising the power sector, proposing that the Government define the proviso ‘subject to security of supply’ condition in its 2035 target. Since … Read more
Government Response
The government defers providing a clear definition for "subject to security of supply", stating it expects to set out more detail on its approach to delivering Clean Power by 2030, including how security of supply will be ensured, by the end of the year.
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Government Response AI assessment · 53 of 28 classified
Accepted 23
Accepted in Part 4
Acknowledged 8
Deferred 17
Not Addressed 1
Total 28 recs + 25 conclusions