Strategic investment in the electricity network

Strategic investment in the electricity network

Our CEO, Peter Emery, shares some insight into our strategic investments which will help to lead the north west to zero carbon, alongisde posing four key questions to Government.

The move to net zero means a move away from natural gas for heating, and petrol and diesel for transport with clean electricity being used instead. That’s set to double electricity demand by 2038.

At last year’s Green Summit, we launched our Leading the North West to Zero Carbon plan to support the region in its aim to become carbon neutral by at least 2050, and in Greater Manchester by 2038.

In that plan we committed to spending £63.5m to decarbonise our own operations and help colleagues, businesses and customers to do the same. Our commitment also included significant investment in the electricity network, the physical infrastructure underpinning the move to net zero.

As part of our crucial strategic investment, Electricity North West is spending £25m over the next three years, the vast majority of which will be spent in Greater Manchester, to add capacity to the electricity network so that it can meet rising demand now and lay the foundations for further investment to meet the huge projected increase in demand as the region switches to new technologies like electric vehicles.

The investment will support key strategic projects in places such as South Manchester Enterprise Zone, Mayfield, Etihad Campus and more and will include schemes to extend substations, reinforce high voltage networks, and create capacity in key areas expected to see significant uptake of new low carbon technologies.

However, Electricity North West cannot facilitate this change alone. We need clarification from the Government on several fronts:

Firstly, the Government has committed to stopping the sales of non-electric vehicles by 2035, but this could be sooner according to the Committee on Climate Change. We need clarity on this date as it will have a major impact on our network.

Secondly, we seek clarity on the Government stance on hydrogen. It’s possible that hydrogen could be used to replace natural gas for heating, but it’s unclear how much. Whatever happens it will have an impact on our future plans as heating not picked up by hydrogen will need to be changed to electricity, with implications on the network.

Thirdly, we are asking the Government to remove the barriers for our business customers to adopt low carbon technologies, such as distributed generation including solar and wind, which connects to our network. Our research shows that businesses are being put off installing solar because of increased business rates. Local renewable generation will be key to net zero, so we are looking to the government to provide incentives, rather than barriers, to embrace green technologies.

Finally, we know that the best way to reduce carbon is to use less energy in the first place, and the best way to do this is to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and operations. At Electricity North West we would like to know more about what the Government and local and regional leaders can do to encourage businesses to be more energy efficient and make better use of the electricity we provide through our network now, and in the future, so that it is not wasted.

It is vital we seek answers to these questions quickly so that we can plan how we move forward accordingly. Right now, is a critical time for us as we are working on our future business plan proposals, which will cover the period between 2023 and 

2028. When this price control finishes we will only be 10 years away from Greater Manchester’s 2038 date of net zero carbon.

The plans we put forward are a commitment to Ofgem, our regulator. Ofgem, wants to see decarbonisation happen, but we need to show that there is local support, and that customers are willing to pay for the investment needed to get us there. All input is valuable and will help make a case for us to continue to support Greater Manchester’s ambitions.

We need to plan and act now for success. We have engaged and continue to engage with stakeholders on these matters, but if we want to continue our investment into the future then we need your input. Please go to www.pluggingIn.co.uk/survey and share your views with us as businesses and key stakeholders.

Investing in creating new capacity now will help ensure that those living and working in the region continue to enjoy one of the most reliable electricity networks when demand does grow and enable growth for years to come.