Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
Recommendation 38
38
Deferred
Paragraph: 177
Resource planning bodies adequately and embed net zero targets into the planning system
Recommendation
The Government should ensure that bodies within the planning system (such as local authorities, the Planning Inspectorate, and the Marine Management Organisation) are adequately resourced to process and comment on applications faster. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero should work with the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities, as well as local government and the devolved administrations, to ensure that the planning system embeds and gives priority to the UK’s legally binding net zero target and the UK Government’s target to decarbonise power by 2035.
Government Response Summary
The Electricity System Operator's (ESO) response details its role in balancing the electricity network, integrating low-carbon technologies into the Balancing Mechanism, and monitoring carbon intensity, without addressing the committee's recommendations for resourcing planning bodies or embedding net zero targets in the planning system.
Paragraph Reference:
177
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
119. [Response provided by ESO] The Electricity System Operator procures services to balance demand and supply and to ensure the security and quality of electricity supply across Britain’s transmission system. The Balancing Mechanism is the ESO’s primary tool to balance supply and demand on GB’s network and is managed second-by-second. 120. The ESO understands how important it is to integrate low carbon technologies into the Balancing Mechanism and across our wider ancillary service markets. To decide on bids and offers to accept, the ESO reviews the technical parameters of all participants to see what they are physically capable of providing, to ensure the system is stable and safe. Decarbonisation of the power sector: Government Response 25 The ESO always considers how competitively priced the bids are, but sometimes must consider other operational and locational factors in making a selection. The ESO’s current licence states it cannot take technology or fuel type into consideration in decision making. 121. As the ESO moves towards its 2025 target of operating a net zero electricity system for short periods of time, the ESO will consider how our markets must evolve to facilitate more low-carbon technologies contributing to system balancing and stability. At present, the carbon intensity of the Balancing Mechanism is actively monitored by the ESO, and these figures are published on its data portal.