Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution published a consultation on the methodology and engagement for its Strategic Development Plans (SDPs) on 9 September 2024. The same announcement opened the second area-specific consultation, for the Fawley Grid Supply Point, which SSEN says connects the New Forest area and the Isle of Wight1.
SSEN states that over the next year it will publish a series of SDPs for its licence areas, and that these will be reviewed annually as projections are updated and stakeholder views are factored in1. The company describes the plans as bridging the gap between projections for future demand and generation growth between now and 2050 and the network investment and flexibility options needed to meet it1. Each plan, once published, will be open for feedback, which SSEN says will inform the plans it then works to deliver1.
"we're now publishing a consultation on the methodology and engagement for how we're devising and developing these proposals. This coincides with the opening of the second area-specific consultation, for the Fawley Grid Supply Point"
Andrew Wainwright, Whole System Team Manager at SSEN Distribution, said the plans would act as a blueprint for an electricity system that is "smart, fair, and fit for net zero", and described them as living plans subject to stakeholder feedback1. SSEN attributes much of the expected growth in demand on its distribution networks to domestic and business customers using and generating more clean electricity1. It also says insights from its own Distribution Future Energy Scenarios, which project local energy demand, will influence the plans, and that the plans will present network capacity spatially1.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Consultation published | SDP methodology and engagement |
| Second area consultation | Fawley Grid Supply Point (New Forest area and Isle of Wight) |
| SDP publication | Series for SSEN licence areas over the next year |
| Review cycle | Annual, as projections are updated |
| Horizon covered | Demand and generation growth to 2050 |
Why it matters for households
The Fawley consultation concerns the grid supply point serving the New Forest area and the Isle of Wight, so households there sit within the area under review1. More broadly, SSEN's plans cover the distribution network that connects homes to the electricity system, and the company expects a large share of demand growth to come from domestic customers using and generating more electricity1. The SDPs are intended to set out where network capacity exists and where investment or flexibility is needed, which is the groundwork for how much new load, such as heating or charging, a local network can absorb. SSEN says the plans will be reviewed annually and that feedback will inform them1. The consultation documents themselves have not been reported in detail here, so what they propose for specific areas is not yet set out.
What happens next
SSEN is hosting a webinar on Friday 13 September about the SDP programme1. Both consultations are open, with further information available through SSEN's DSO consultation library1. The wider series of SDPs for SSEN's licence areas is to be published over the course of the next year1.