Trisha's Blog August 2024

Since my last blog in July, we have, of course, seen the advent of a new UK Government and an accelerated focus on getting to net zero. NGET has a key role to play in delivering the infrastructure needed to meet the government’s new ambition and the ISG is taking its responsibility to challenge and advise very seriously. Meanwhile, Ofgem has published its final Sector Specific Methodology for RIIO-3 electricity transmission, accompanied by final Business plan Guidance with expanded roles for the ISG in relation to the Business Plan Incentive and Science-Based Targets.

The ISG met in July to scrutinise the log of our challenges to NGET as we expect to be able to see a “golden thread” between our challenges and the decision-making that will underpin NGET’s Business Plan. We were also able to provide our feedback and expectations on the first draft we have seen of the narrative structure and approach of the Business Plan.

This month, we had a full day meeting where we covered the environment, plans for a resilient workforce, and plans for developing the land and property portfolio.

For example, on Environment, we challenged NGET to be more ambitious in their target setting. We also challenged the plan for a resilient workforce, as we tasked NGET to think about the wider context in the changing societal context and to clearly articulate the workforce related risks in the business plan. We also challenged NGET to be proactive, and follow recognised good practice in stakeholder engagement, in liaising with their specific Land and Property stakeholders to ensure that, accessing land to be able to maintain and upgrade the existing network and deliver an ambitious investment plan is done in a transparent way and that NGET can demonstrate that it ahs engaged in the right way with communities.

Over the next few weeks, we will continue to meet to discuss the key topics in the business plan and we will conduct another review of the challenge log. At every meeting, we also discuss NGET’s scorecard on the delivery of the RIIO-2 business plan and, in October, we will conduct, and then publish, our annual review of NGET’s delivery of its RIIO-2 performance commitments.

In addition to my regular meetings with NGET leaders, I will be attending the NGET Board meeting where I will be conveying, and discussing, the ISG’s key messages to the Board.

As December approaches and as NGET prepares for their business plan submission, we will consider the full business plan and how NGET has taken on board stakeholder feedback and our challenges. I look forward to letting you know how things progress in my next blog.