UK Power Networks has entered its next regulatory price control period, which the electricity distribution network operator states runs "from 2023 to 2028"1. The period follows the company's Green Recovery programme, a bidding round for low carbon projects needing an electricity connection, which the company says has informed its investment plans for the new period1.
The programme was set up after the Government and the energy regulator Ofgem asked the industry to assess strategic electricity network investment in support of a green recovery1. UK Power Networks invited bids from "shovel-ready low carbon energy projects that require a high or low voltage electricity connection in the next two years"1. It received 360 applications in total, from commercial fleet operators to local councils and community groups, with electric vehicle charging the largest category1.
Of those, 86 applications were approved, with a total investment of £66.1m, unlocking 147MVA of capacity1. The approved work includes capacity at 11 motorway service areas to support more than 600 ultra fast 150kW chargers, and local authority and commercially operated charging hubs to support 500 rapid 50kW chargers, alongside community and public building heat and renewable generation projects1.
"Our Green Recovery programme is an unprecedented opportunity to support the green economy and address climate change by kickstarting shovel-ready green energy infrastructure projects."
The company states that in its three licence areas there are already more than 130,000 electric vehicles, a figure it projects will rise to more than 4.5m by the end of the decade1. It also notes growing use of electrically powered heat pumps as a technology that can replace fossil fuel heating systems, alongside options such as green gas1. The company says it will use the knowledge gained from all applications to inform its network forecasting models and its ED2 investment plans1.
Why it matters for households
The price control period sets the framework within which UK Power Networks plans and funds its network, and the company's own account ties that planning to the growth of electric vehicles and heat pumps in its areas1. For a household, the practical link is local network capacity: the ability of the wires serving a street or a town to carry additional load when a home adds an electric vehicle charger or a heat pump. The Green Recovery round was aimed at places where a lack of local capacity was restricting development1, and the approved projects are intended to create new capacity and reduce the cost of connecting low carbon projects1. The company's stated figures cover vehicles and chargers rather than individual homes, and no household-level connection figures or charges for the 2023 to 2028 period are given in the material published on the programme1.
What happens next
The next regulatory price control period runs from 2023 to 20281. UK Power Networks states it has written to all applicants to advise them of the outcome of their applications, and that the insight from the 360 bids will feed into its network forecasting models and its ED2 investment plans1. No further dated milestones for the period are set out in the programme material1.
Sources1 cited
- Green Recovery | UK Power Networks, ukpowernetworks.co.uk