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National Grid chief executive John Pettigrew has called for anticipatory investment in the transmission network to be targeted at key areas across Britain.
In an exclusive video interview for Utility Week Live, Pettigrew backed the concept of investing ahead of need in a series of “connections hubs”. He said this would help to ease the logjam in the queue to connect to the transmission grid. However, he stressed that planning reform is also urgently needed.
Addressing the issues of long waits to connect to the transmission network, Pettigrew said: “We need to think about this more strategically. Today anybody can connect to the system anywhere they like and yet we’ve got this major transformation going on. If you link it to the anticipatory investments, potentially, I think the right solution is you create connection hubs where you invest in anticipation of need. Then you let people know where there are opportunities to connect to the system, in a timeframe that works.”
He went on to argue for an energy spatial plan, to define what is going to be built and the impact that has on the energy system.
In the 30-minute video with Utility Week editor James Wallin, Pettigrew also called for an explicit net-zero mandate for Ofgem and addressed the supply chain challenges associated with the massive rollout of critical national infrastructure over the next decade.
He predicted that Britain stands on the edge of a new Victorian era as new infrastructure is rolled out to support net zero and urged the government to use this opportunity to attract new investment into the country.
See the full video below:
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