Select committee: Welsh Affairs Committee
Recommendation 29
First Report - Grid Capacity in Wales
Published 21 Oct 2022
Paragraph 142
Addressed to Wales Office
Welsh Affairs Committee Grid capacity in Wales All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The UK Government should use National Grid ESO’s Future Energy Scenarios to work with energy companies and grid infrastructure owners to determine areas where anticipatory investment in grid infrastructure would be justified to achieve net zero targets. Where anticipatory investment in grid infrastructure is deemed justified, the UK Government should encourage the development of multi-connection substations in order to establish local supply chains, which can then support the connection of future renewable energy projects.
From: Welsh Affairs Committee, First Report - Grid Capacity in Wales (HC 218), paragraph 142, 21 October 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 24 January 2023 (deadline 21 December 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the Committee's report and says it will continue work on strategic planning, regulatory approval, planning consents and streamlining connections, while declining some recommendations on working groups, legislation and Ofgem's duty.
- On Ofgem's primary duty, the government "does not consider an amendment to Ofgem's primary duty to be necessary", saying the duty to protect consumers' interests already includes reducing emissions in line with net zero.
- On community energy, it will not establish a working group "at this time", citing the existing Community Energy Contact Group, and has "no plans to bring forward legislative proposals, at this time".
- On connection costs, it notes that from April 2023 Ofgem will socialise a further proportion of network reinforcement costs for distribution connection customers, which "will reduce the upfront cost".
- On planning, it intends to publish a full NSIP Reform Action Plan and consultations "in due course", and says revised energy National Policy Statements will be published "soon".