Recommendation 43

There has been a clear lack of strategic planning and coordination of energy infrastructure and network upgrades. A failure to plan from a whole system perspective risks increasing the overall costs of the transition. We welcome the more strategic approach emerging following National Grid ESO’s Holistic Network Design and Ofgem’s Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) framework. We also welcome measures included in the Energy Bill to enable competition in onshore electricity networks in Great Britain, which should be made a high priority by the Government and Ofgem once enacted.