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Select committee: Energy Security and Net Zero Committee

2nd Special Report - Gridlock or Growth? Avoiding energy planning chaos: Government Response

Published 19 November 2025

Energy Security and Net Zero Committee National planning for energy infrastructure Report on parliament.uk ↗

At a glance

The government's response

This document responds to 2nd Report - Gridlock or growth? Avoiding energy planning chaos.

This is the government's response, published 19 November 2025.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government's response says it will provide sufficient time for committee scrutiny of future NPS updates, but it "cannot commit" to a minimum review period, and it sets out amendments and positions on the Committee's wider recommendations.

  • On scrutiny timing, the government "notes" the Committee's concerns and says it will "ensure early liaison with Committee" in future NPS reviews, but cannot commit to a minimum review period.
  • On Critical National Priority infrastructure, it has amended EN-1, replacing "material reduction" with "significant reduction" and adding that exceptional circumstances may "warrant a small reduction in generation capacity and function".
  • On the Centralised Strategic Network Plan, it agrees to remove the term "strategic solution" but will maintain "indicative routes" and "strategic parameters".
  • On distribution infrastructure, it has consulted on removing 132kV wooden poles from the NSIP regime and "will respond in due course"; any threshold change would need secondary legislation.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error

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