“Today’s announcements will hearten everyone working hard to enable net zero. We need to use every tool in the box to accelerate grid connections and ensure the country can deliver the critical infrastructure it needs as quickly as possible.
“It’s great to see the government acting on the need for planning reform, including the publication of revised energy National Policy Statements. We also welcome the intent to ensure there are direct benefits for the communities hosting critical energy infrastructure and the steps set out in the government’s Connections Action Plan.
“Steps taken by the electricity network operators, Ofgem and ESO (the system operator) have already helped to ensure nearly 50GW of capacity is being made available to customers in 2023. That’s almost the equivalent of the UK’s peak electricity demand. The steps announced today will help increase that even further over the coming months and years.
“We look forward to working with the Secretary of State and Minister for Nuclear and Networks to enable net zero, unlock grid capacity and boost UK investment.”
Notes to editor
Uptake of the 50GW of capacity will depend on the ability of the market to progress those projects, driven by individual project business cases and timelines and how much of the queue are unique viable projects.
About us
Energy Networks Association (ENA) is the industry body representing the energy networks. Our members include every major electricity network operator in the UK. The electricity networks are at the heart of the energy transition. They directly employ more than 26,000 people in the UK, including 1,500 apprentices. They are spending and investing £33bn in our electricity grids over the coming years, to ensure safe, reliable and secure energy supplies for the millions of homes and businesses reliant on power every day.
Press contacts
You can contact ENA's press office by emailing press@energynetworks.org. For urgent or out-of-hours enquiries from journalists, please call 0204 599 7691.