ESO failing to tackle grid connection woes

The electricity system operator (ESO) is failing to tackle transmission queue management problems, an influential group of MPs has claimed.

The cross-party group said it welcomed National Grid ESO’s five point plan to tackle transmission queue management issues, published in February, but said the measures have “not proved successful to date”.

They warn that failing to improve grid connections puts the UK’s target of a fossil-fuel free grid by 2035 at risk.

In its wide-ranging new report on Decarbonisation of the Power Sector, the BEIS committee warns that the existing “first come first served” approach to grid connections is failing to deliver the volume of connections needed for the UK to hit its net zero targets.

Instead, the committee calls for tougher vetting of projects before they are added to the grid connection waiting list.

In particular, it has urged Ofgem to grant National Grid ESO the power to review projects in the queue against a “strengthened” set of qualifying criteria.

The report concludes that having a stiffer set of requirements should allow for more viable projects to be prioritised.

It also says “direct intervention” from the government may be needed on resolving these issues.

An ESO spokesperson said the organisation recognised grid connections were one of the key challenges facing the energy system and this concern had driven the implementation of the five point plan.

They added: “We welcome the committee’s support for our queue management code modification. This is a vital step in our five point plan that would enable us to more effectively manage the connections queue, requiring Ofgem approval.”

Elsewhere, the report warns that an absence of strategic leadership from ministers and the lack of a coherent, overarching plan to deliver national targets undermines the UK’s ability to reduce its dependence on imported expensive fossil fuels for electricity.

The committee’s chair Darren Jones said: “Ministers think that publishing strategies and releasing social media videos will deliver the energy infrastructure the country needs. It’s failed before and it keeps failing.

“Without a coherent, overarching delivery plan, the government risks undermining the UK’s ability to generate, store and distribute the fossil fuel free electricity the country needs to hit net zero.

“The UK is now competing with the US and Europe for investment. Government must urgently make us an attractive investment proposition again and ensure that the pool of capital and labour available for building low-carbon energy projects is not lost.”

Among a swathe of recommendations, the report also calls for unabated bioenergy plants to be phased out in favour of more sustainable alternatives “as soon as possible”. It says alternatives could include bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) but only if this is proven to be a viable option.

It adds, future taxpayer support for BECCS project must be contingent on robust, transparent evidence that the full lifecycle emissions from such facilities in the UK are carbon neutral.

The report also says the government must determine the sectors of the economy in which use of hydrogen will be prioritised, given constraints on supply.

It urges the government to take forward the recommendations of the Climate Change Committee to develop a cross-sectoral infrastructure strategy that narrows the space for future hydrogen uses and finalise the business models for hydrogen this year.

It also raises concern over the use of blue hydrogen, which is created from natural gas, because doing so potentially leaves the UK exposed to volatile international prices of the fossil fuel and risks increased leakage of methane from pipelines.

The report acknowledges the UK may need to use unabated gas-fired stations to meet shortfalls in supply on rare occasions after 2035 in order to maintain security of supply. Consequently, it calls for the government to define the level of residual emissions from such plants that it is willing to accept from this date when the grid is due to be decarbonised.

The committee also requests the government reviews current estimates of delivering its 24GW of nuclear power by 2050, in light of cost hikes at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C.

The report’s other recommendations include:

• A review of the budget for this year’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round 5 to ensure that it accurately reflect the cost pressures facing the renewables sector, amidst concerns that these are putting into question marks over the viability of future projects
• Offering developers of low carbon energy projects investment allowance rates equivalent to those received by the oil and gas sector
• Setting a UK-wide target for the deployment of onshore wind by 2035 and bringing such projects in England back under the planning recommend that the Government brings onshore wind projects back under the planning regime for National Significant Infrastructure Projects, while ensuring a ‘clear presumption in favour’ of repowering and extending the life of existing wind farms.
• Considering allowing longer term CfDs for tidal energy, reflecting the longer lifecycle for such projects compared to, for example, offshore wind turbines with the setting of a 1GW target for tidal stream deployment by 2035
• A policy framework for long term energy storage this year, including a target range for such energy technologies and a revenue stabilisation mechanism
• Bringing forward the £6bn funding package for energy efficiency allocated for the period 2025 to 2028 to now