Select committee: Environmental Audit Committee
Conclusion 2
Sixth Report - Enabling sustainable electrification of the economy
Published 24 May 2024
Paragraph 20
Environmental Audit Committee Enabling sustainable electrification of the UK economy All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
While we welcome the commissioning of a Centralised Strategic Network Plan and a Strategic Spatial Energy Plan, the relationship between the two is unclear: unless they are developed in tandem, in an environment where the relationship between the two is actively nurtured, there is an evident risk that the two plans will deliver suboptimal outcomes. We are struck by the current lack of evidence of a unified overall approach to delivery planning for the energy system in a way which explicitly facilitates the joint development of interim net zero energy targets, network system planning and requirements for public and private investment in setting out a path to 2035.
From: Environmental Audit Committee, Sixth Report - Enabling sustainable electrification of the economy (HC 278), paragraph 20, 24 May 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 31 December 2024 (deadline 24 July 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government agrees with a number of the Committee's recommendations on electrification, including on long-duration storage, community benefits and NESO governance, while saying other matters, such as an electrification supply chain roadmap, are still under review.
- On storage, the government "agrees with the importance of long-duration energy storage" and has published its decision to introduce a cap and floor scheme, with the first application round "expected in 2025".
- On the supply chain roadmap, it will be "reviewing the need for an electrification roadmap" rather than committing to one, and says its full approach to supporting supply chains will be in the Industrial Strategy due in Spring 2025.
- On market-wide half-hourly settlement, the government "notes the importance" of implementation, and Ofgem reports completion delayed to "July 2027 at the earliest and December 2027 at the latest".
- On community benefits, the government agrees it is important that communities "directly benefit" and is reviewing how to deliver them near new transmission infrastructure, saying it will set out more details "shortly".