Regen has written to Ofgem setting out our concerns that the RIIO-ED2 process to date has left a significant risk that renewables and low carbon technologies will not be able to connect to the network at the speed and scale required to achieve net zero.
Ask pretty much anyone working on net zero energy what the key challenges they face are and connecting to the network will be high on their list.
This once quiet corner of our national infrastructure is now on the critical path to net zero. All those renewables, storage systems, EV chargers and heat pumps will need to connect to the electricity network. And they will do so largely at the distribution network level.
That's why, as Ofgem now has in front of it for scrutiny the Distribution Network Operators' (DNO) Business Plans for 2023 to 2028, Regen has written to Ofgem's CEO Jonathan Brearley calling for the regulator to put net zero at the heart of its final determinations.
All the DNOs have made welcome commitments to ensuring they are not a barrier to net zero, underpinned by the Distribution Future Energy Scenario process that Regen developed to inform network planning.
Our challenge to Ofgem now is to embed these net zero commitments is the somewhat arcane details of the way their price controls work; ensuring investment in the network and flexibility matches the speed and scale of low carbon technology take up and tying DNO financial rewards and penalties to their performance on enabling net zero.
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