SSEN MD ‘sad’ about gas split from ENA

The managing director of Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution has told Utility Week that he feels “personally sad” that the UK’s gas networks are leaving the sector’s trade body.

As revealed late last month, all four gas distribution networks – Cadent, Northern Gas Networks, SGN and Wales & West Utilities – and the gas transmission operator National Gas, will leave the Energy Networks Association (ENA) at the end of 2024.

The ENA said that “in view of the changing energy policy landscape” the gas networks had reviewed their membership and concluded “their interests are best served by leaving” the umbrella organisation.

In an interview with Utility Week, Chris Burchell was asked for his thoughts on the split and whether he had concerns that a rift was developing in the industry.

In response, he said: “I can say that I’m personally sad that that decision has been made. But it’s clearly their prerogative to do that.

“The most important thing at this juncture, and I think the ENA said this publicly, is to manage that transition in the right way. For me, that means we need to continue to work closely with gas distribution networks (GDNs).”

Burchell stressed the need for collaborative working across all of the network operators, saying there is “a lot of benefit” to this. Even after the separation, he said, there will still be a need for collaboration.

The SSEN MD added: “There are differences, sure, and the GDNs will go and decide what they wish to do differently and how they’ll structure that.

“But what is critical is that all energy networks will need to have some degree of collaboration and that’s going to have to continue because we won’t be able to achieve the energy transition without that.”

As previously reported, two points of tension in recent months are understood to have lead to the gas networks exodus.

The first was the prime minister’s revised approach to net zero, outlined in September, during which he raised the value of grants available for heat pump installations from £5,000 to £7,500.

Then a month later came the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC)’s five-yearly assessment, which was unambiguous that there was “no public policy case” for hydrogen to be used to warm individual buildings and that electrification should be the “exclusive focus” for decarbonisation of heat.

As well as the gas networks’ split from the ENA, Utility Week’s interview with Burchell covered connections reform, regional system planning and the forthcoming National Infrastructure Commission review into distribution networks.

The full interview will soon be available in an upcoming Digital Weekly issue.