Electricity network connection reform

The background

• Meeting the UK’s legally binding decarbonisation targets means building and upgrading electricity networks to connect additional electricity generation and energy storage. But we need to also get smarter with how the electricity is used.
• Over the next six years the UK will have to install more than five times the amount of transmission infrastructure in England and Wales than was built in the last 30 years.¹
• The Connections Action Plan (CAP) and Transmission Acceleration Action Plan (TAAP) set out reforms to streamline connection processes, moving Britain from a ‘first come, first served’ system’ to a ‘first ready, first connected’ system.^2,3 However, more is needed to deliver at pace.

The challenge

• The current queue includes more than 700 GW of projects, three times the capacity Great Britain is expected to need by 2050.⁴ This is partly due to speculative projects securing queue positions. The average timeline for a new connection to the network is 11-13 years.⁵
• Uncertainty about future processes is affecting investor confidence, alongside an anticipated move to a Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) – a more centralised approach to planning the energy system.
• Those connecting to more local electricity distribution networks see frequent delays at all stages of the connection process, with a lack of standardised processes across Great Britain.
• There is potential for public backlash against the buildout of a near-unprecedented amount of energy infrastructure. This could slow down construction and deployment of low-carbon energy.

What’s the solution?

• The Government should commission the Electricity System Operator to deliver an SSEP to improve business certainty.
• The Government should coordinate other ongoing work affecting investment to give long-term clarity to investors on how these programmes will be aligned.
• Ofgem should obligate networks to standardise processes and timelines for connections and review standards of performance to improve timelines at each stage of the process.
• The Government should fully engage with the National Infrastructure Commission review of electricity distribution networks and implement the review recommendations when published.
• Public engagement on the network buildout process should be delivered to encourage public acceptance, continuing the work of the CAP and TAAP in this space.

¹ EAC (June 2023), National Grid Evidence Submitted for Environmental Audit Committee
² DESNZ and Ofgem (November 2023), Connection Action Plan
³ DESNZ (2023), Transmission Acceleration Action Plan
⁴ National Grid ESO (2023), Future Energy Scenarios
⁵ Ofgem (2022), Accelerating onshore electricity transmission investment