Responding to the National Infrastructure Commission’s report on electricity distribution networks, Charles Wood, Deputy Director at Energy UK, said:
“The recommendations of this report should be implemented in full to address the barriers facing developers and consumers connecting to distribution networks across GB. Distributed energy generation, housing projects, new industries, and existing businesses and households require improved standards of service and more efficient processes to invest in low-carbon heat, power, and transport. A reformed approach to network operation and strategic investment in energy infrastructure, alongside a holistic review of the approach to skills across the energy transition, will enable the UK to deliver on the economic and job-creation potential of a range of low-carbon sectors.
“Inconsistencies in DNO approaches to delivering connections result in a postcode lottery that threatens to leave regions and neighbourhoods behind as others see the benefits of a lower-carbon, flexible, homegrown energy system. Ongoing reforms to connections and system planning at the national level must be met with equivalent efforts at the regional distribution level, and this report is an excellent summary of the actions required to modernise and improve delivery at all levels of the energy system.”