Eleanor Warburton
Director for Energy Systems Design & Development, Ofgem
In my role, I meet energy consumers from all walks of life, so I’m acutely aware of the struggles people are facing with the cost of living, and energy bills make up a big part of that.
Ofgem’s primary focus is protecting energy consumers now and in the future. That can take many forms. Regulating suppliers is just one area of our work. Supporting the buildout of an energy system that is clean, affordable and secure is also central to our efforts.
New connections for clean energy
Reaching clean power by 2030 needs significant investment and reform — and nowhere is this more pressing than in the connections process. While Britain is rich in clean energy generation, especially via wind farms, all of these sites have to be connected to the grid so that carbon-free electricity can make it into homes and businesses across the country. At the moment, the queue to get these projects connected is simply not working.
Based on analysis from the system operator, we need somewhere around 174GW of new connections to the grid in the next five years to reach the 2030 target. That’s around a quarter of what’s currently in the queue, and it’s still enough to bring clean power to every household and business in the country. Clearing the way for projects that are closer to being ready and are aligned with those clean power goals is what’s required.
Getting clean energy into
homes and businesses is a
necessity for the environment.
First ready and needed, first connected
We’re planning to move from the old ‘first-come, first-served’ queuing system to a ‘first ready and needed, first connected’ system to fast-track the projects that we need to end our dependency on fossil fuels and drive economic growth.
This isn’t simple, of course. We supported the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to introduce a temporary pause to new additions to the queue altogether while we both work to fundamentally reform the process to reduce the current backlog.
Facilitating energy investment and innovation
I believe that regulation does not need to mean red tape. Instead, as connections reform shows, it can mean facilitating investment. It can mean tearing down barriers to innovation in a way that protects and benefits the users of our energy system.
Getting clean energy into homes and businesses is a necessity for the environment, but it also unlocks huge opportunities for economic growth. Having a regulatory environment which encourages innovation and impactful projects will mean thousands of jobs and place GB at the forefront of global net zero efforts.
