Recommendation 2

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.