⛔ 🚧 Britain’s grid delays are now hitting demand projects (like data centres and EV hubs), not just energy generation, with a congested and inefficient demand connection queue slowing viable developments. Ofgem’s proposed reforms aim to clean up the queue, but the core issue remains: only incumbent operators can build transmission infrastructure, limiting capacity and speed. I shared some thoughts with Utility Week which have made it into their “Top Stories” post this morning, linked below. We need to open the transmission network to competition – in the same way Ofgem did in the distribution network more than 20 years ago – this would unlock faster connections, boost investment, and prevent demand from becoming the next major bottleneck to UK growth.
Top stories today (£) 🚨 Rejected national pricing reforms back on the table https://lnkd.in/e7_-Js32 The government is going “back to the drawing board” on electricity market reform by taking a fresh look at options which had been previously ruled out. Energy minister Michael Shanks revealed that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) was open to reviving options that had been rejected during the Review of electricity market arrangements (REMA). 💷 ADE chief: We learnt nothing from last energy crisis https://lnkd.in/e_wz8DfY The need for government intervention to support vulnerable customers hit by rising energy prices shows that the UK has learned nothing from the 2022 energy crisis. That is the view of ADE’s interim CEO Aaron Gould who told Utility Week that there is no reason for the UK to be caught out by the price shocks coming from the Middle East conflict. ⚡Open up the transmission market to avoid bottleneck https://lnkd.in/exy_egMG Ofgem’s plan to tackle the demand connections queue is a welcome step. But it won’t stop the impending bottleneck. It’s time to open up the transmission market, says the chief executive of independent distribution network operator Aurora Utilities, Simon Reilly.
