The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee, chaired by Baroness Taylor of Bolton, has launched an inquiry into the UK’s energy grid and grid connections. The inquiry examines regulatory, planning, and funding barriers to delivering the necessary energy infrastructure to meet the Government’s target of at least 95% clean electricity generation by 2030. It also evaluates proposals for connections reform, locational pricing, and the coordination between regulatory bodies and Government policies to address these challenges.
Spotlight on Data Centre Interests: Data centres, as significant energy consumers, are heavily reliant on timely and reliable grid connections. This inquiry provides a critical opportunity to highlight the barriers faced by data centres, such as delays in connections due to the current queue system and regulatory inefficiencies.
This is a call for input to inform our response. We will be giving evidence to the Committee on 25 February 2025.
You can find more information on the inquiry here.
The Committee is interested in answers to the following questions:
1. What is your view of the National Energy System Operator’s proposals to reform the connections queue? Will those changes be sufficient to ensure that projects necessary to meet the clean power target will be able to connect in a timely way? If not, what further changes are needed?
2. It is possible that the removal or deprioritisation of projects in the connections queue could be subject to legal challenge. What protections will NESO and networks need from any legal challenges which could arise as a result of changes made to the connections queue?
3. What barriers to delivering energy network infrastructure are imposed by the planning and consenting system? To what extent do these barriers relate to the resourcing of the various planning authorities, or to levels of community consent for this infrastructure? What is your view of the Government’s proposals to address these barriers, and are further changes needed?
4. What community incentives and/or obligations might best enable grid expansion, and how should they be decided?
5. How can environmental considerations be accommodated in extending the grid network?
6. Are Ofgem’s price controls and regulatory regime appropriately balanced to ensure the necessary network investment to meet the UK’s clean power target? Are changes needed to ensure greater network investment, and if so, what should those changes be?
7. What incentives need to be introduced to encourage generation and energy demand to locate closer to one another? Should this be done through locational pricing, and if not, should network charges be reformed to provide these incentives?
8. What is your view of Ofgem’s proposals to require a higher standard of service to connection customers from distribution networks? Should there be a greater standardisation of application processes and connection deadlines, with compensation for customers if they are not met?
9. Is there sufficient strategic planning for distribution networks? What will Regional Energy Strategic Plans need to deliver in order to be a success?
10. Is there sufficient focus on connecting sources of demand, such as businesses, to energy networks, as well as connecting new sources of energy supply? How can the needs of potential consumers of energy be balanced with the need to ensure adequate supply?
11. Does the current number of regulators and bodies involved in managing, overseeing and operating energy networks make it difficult to deliver at the necessary pace? How can these bodies work together efficiently, and with the Government, to deliver network infrastructure?
12. Is there sufficient coordination between Government policy and the regulatory processes and frameworks for energy networks? Should the Government provide greater strategic guidance to the sector on how to drive growth and grid expansion, for instance by providing greater clarity on trade-offs through its Strategy and Policy Statement for energy policy?
Teodora Kaneva
Teodora’s rich background varies from working in business development for a renewable energy lobbying association in Brussels to the fast moving technology innovation startup scene in the UK.
