UK network operators, trade bodies and supply chain companies have called on the energy regulator Ofgem to deliver on net zero in its final price control determinations.
The call in a letter to Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley and chairman Martin Cave is for net-zero to be at the heart of Britain’s regulatory framework.
The letter was sent as Ofgem, which regulates the companies who own Britain’s energy networks, concludes a round of open hearings as part of its consideration of their future business plans.
It was signed by 17 organisations, including Scottish Renewables.
Scottish Renewables chief executive Claire Mack said: “The next five years will be crucial in our collective quest to tackle the climate emergency and we must all make sure we do everything we can to set us on the right pathway.
“With Ofgem set to publish its final determinations for electricity transmission and gas in December it is paramount that the regulatory framework has the flexibility and agility required to unlock the ambition and investment required to deliver, not delay, net zero.
“Time is of the essence. The next five years will be crucial in our collective quest to tackle the climate emergency and we must all make sure we do everything we can to set us on the right pathway.
“With governments in Westminster and Edinburgh committing to world-leading climate change targets the renewable energy industry is calling on Ofgem to ensure that investment in our networks is at least in step with, if not ahead of, this ambition.”
The next energy network price controls are due to begin in April 2021 for electricity transmission and gas and in 2023 for electricity distribution.
The other signatories are ABB Hitachi, Aldersgate, Balfour Beatty, BAM Nuttall, Burns and McDonnell, CBI, Civil Engineering Contractors Association), Energy Networks Association, GE Grid Solutions UK, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Morgan Sindall, Omexon, PLPC, RenewableUK, Siemens and Wood.