TO BE PUBLISHED October 2024
Price: £150 PLUS VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
This conference will focus on plans for developing the UK’s electricity network and key issues for delivery.
It follows the establishment of a Mission Control taskforce at the DESNZ, responsible for delivering the new Government’s pledge of reaching net zero by 2030. We expect discussion on the taskforce’s role, including priorities for speeding up connection of new power infrastructure to the grid, such as onshore wind farms, and next steps for collaboration with Ofgem, the National Grid and the Electricity System Operator.
The conference also follows publication of both the previous Government’s Electricity networks: Transmission Acceleration Action Plan and Connections Action Plan in November 2023, setting out proposals for network reform and improvements in response to recommendations from the Electricity Networks Commissioner Nick Winser, who is a keynote speaker at this conference.
We are pleased to be able to include a further keynote session with: Alice Etheridge, Head, Strategic Spatial Energy Planning, National Grid ESO.
Stakeholders and policymakers will examine key issues and progress so far on action plans and next steps in the new Parliament. Areas for discussion include the way forward for minimising investment risk, speeding up the end-to-end build time of electricity transmission network infrastructure, and potential impact on local communities, as well as key environmental concerns.
Sessions include discussion on the scale and pace of connection reform, and latest thinking on futureproofing the grid for new technology and renewable energy integration, with the capacity and resilience to serve demand alongside meeting decarbonisation targets.
Delegates will look at key issues for implementing planning reform, provision of sufficient operation and storage solutions, and what moving from a ‘connect and build’ to a ‘build and manage’ approach looks like in practice.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- strategy: priorities for the Government’s new Mission Control taskforce - assessing action plans - costs, finance and investor confidence - alternative approaches to policy and implementation
- development: progress on government, regulator and industry plans - priorities for the National Energy System Operator, the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan and Centralised Strategic Network Plan
- reform: assessing optimal and practical pace of change - regional connectivity - reforming the planning system to accelerate infrastructure implementation - consumer costs and value for money
- decarbonisation: planning, policy and stakeholder priorities for net zero pathways - addressing challenges for integration of renewables and alternative energy sources
- impact: taking due account of local concerns - mitigating environmental impact - implications for investment and grid infrastructure rollout
The conference will be an opportunity for stakeholders to consider the issues alongside key policy officials who are due to attend from Defra; DESNZ; DSIT; DLUHC; DfT; DBT; GLD; GO-Science; Ofwat; Planning Inspectorate; UKIB; Transport Scotland; Department for the Economy, NI; GBN; HM Treasury; OBR; MMO; MOD; NAO; POST; The Scottish Government; and the Welsh Government - as well as a parliamentary pass-holder from the House of Commons.
The proceedings of the conference will be circulated more widely, to Parliamentarians, ministerial offices, and government and regulatory officials with an interest in the issues being discussed. All delegates will also receive a video recording of the conference.
