The UK's energy network operators have already been investing and helping to turn the country into a superpower of renewable energy. Here are six ways that network companies are helping us to Build Back Greener:
- Connecting record levels of renewable generation - nearly 50GW of renewable electricity is now connected to the grid. Almost 80% of the increase in renewable capacity since last year has come from offshore wind.
- Turbocharging infrastructure for electric vehicles - since 2015 the number of charging points has increased by 402%.
- Helping to slash carbon emissions - replacing old cast-iron mains gas pipes with new hydrogen and biomethane-ready pipes will have taken the equivalent of over 526,000 cars off the road since 2014.
- Creating jobs and growth - 400,000 jobs will be needed by 2050 to deliver the UK’s emissions targets. More jobs will be needed within the energy networks, the supply chain and in the new services and industries that emerge.
- Helping our gas go green - moving to a zero-carbon gas grid where we use low carbon gases like biomethane and hydrogen will help save bill-payers £89bn by 2050.
- Our Open Networks project is helping homes and businesses take full advantage of new technologies such as electric vehicles and heat pumps and underpinning the delivery of an even smarter, more efficient grid.
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.