A year in the life of network reform
Listen to this blog read by Holly Thomas, Policy Manager for Grid and Systems at Scottish Renewables, via this link.
It’s been 12 months since Scottish Renewables’ inaugural Grid & Networks Conference, which means it’s 12 months minus three days since I joined the grid team and stepped onto the ever-accelerating treadmill of grid reform.
Keeping up with all things grid in 2024 felt a bit like training for a sprint that keeps turning into a marathon.
So, ahead of our upcoming conference in Glasgow on February 27, I wanted to take a look back at the year’s major checkpoints and remind myself of the sheer volume of changes we’ve been running through.
As part of the broader intention to strategically plan our electricity network, the former Electricity System Operator (ESO) released its Beyond 2030 plan in March. The report, also known as the transitional Centralised Strategic Network Plan 2 (tCSNP2), sought to build on previous network mapping exercises to explore how the grid can accommodate an additional 21GW of offshore wind.
Hot on the heels of network planning announcements, in April the ESO shared its proposal to apply a new ‘first-ready, first-served’ approach to projects applying to the connections queue, translating measures from the Connections Action Plan (CAP) into, well, action. Meanwhile, queue management milestones were introduced the month before to incentivise the development of projects in the existing queue ahead of more substantial, forthcoming reform.
One of the year’s defining moments for industry as well as the wider UK was of course the General Election in July that ushered in a new Labour Government complete with a new ‘Mission Control’ body designed to turbo-charge our industry towards an ambition for Clean Power by 2030 (CP30).
Connections were pushed to the front of the agenda and the new government called on the soon-to-be National Energy System Operator (NESO) to consider a host of commissions, including developing Clean Power recommendations in August, the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) in October and aligning the ongoing Connections Reform to CP30 in November.
Recognising the role of local stakeholders in realising these proposed plans, Ofgem published its first policy framework for a Regional Energy Strategic Plan (RESP) in late July. The aim of RESPs is to bridge the gap between national and local-level policy-making to sustainably engage communities and decision makers in policies that impact them.
Aligning with the urgency of CP30, September saw Ofgem publish a call for industry to develop a cap and floor to Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charges, (i.e., setting upper and lower limits to the level of charges). The uncertainty and unpredictability surrounding charges, as well as their sheer scale in the most northern parts of the country, is reaching a tipping point that is threatening the existence of vital projects. As such, NESO, which launched officially on October 1, has since been working with industry to develop an interim solution ahead of the outcome of the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements(REMA).
Following consultation with industry, NESO strengthened its new approach for connections by adopting a ‘first-ready, first-needed, first-served’ approach to new and existing projects. Aligned to these changes, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan in December outlining a new spatial approach to determine the regional, technology-specific capacities that will create the energy mix we need for 2030.
This whistle-stop tour of the past year misses other key workstreams such as Energy Code Reform, changes in offshore transmission, Transmission Owner RIIO-T3 business plans and the introduction of competition, which are to be developed further with industry.
The upcoming year promises pivotal changes for our industry, through grid reform and the wider landscape, signalling that what we might once have hoped for as a light jog has turned into a full-on ultra marathon.
To hear from the frontrunners of grid, get your tickets to our Grid & Networks Conference 2025, which takes place in Glasgow on February 27.
Notes:
- To learn more about the evolution of Connections Reform, read our explainer.
- To find out about the various network plans being undertaken in the UK, read our blog ‘What’s the plan for the UK’s electricity network?’.
- To understand why we need more grid in the UK, read our blog ‘Why pylons are needed for an affordable net-zero future’.