ENERGY regulator Ofgem is set to unveil its plan to help decarbonise the UK to meet net-zero targets.
The organisation’s new boss, Jonathan Brearley, today launches the regulator’s proposals to quadruple offshore wind generation and put 10 million electric vehicles on Britain’s roads within a decade.
The scheme is designed to help the UK reach the target of being carbon neutral by the middle of the century.
This will require a boom in renewable and low-carbon electricity. The regulator said additional costs will be incurred in the short term, but that delaying will lead to an even higher price in the future as the challenge of cutting emissions increases.
“Britain has come a long way. It has decarbonised faster than any other major economy, but we must go further, particularly on heat and transport. We are taking an approach that recognises that our role protecting consumers includes achieving net zero,” Brearley said.
He vowed to introduce price controls on the energy networks to make the energy system more flexible and called on the industry to “rise to the challenge”.
One such challenge is that wind farms and solar farms generate energy only when the climatic conditions are right. Companies are therefore finding new ways of regulating demand so that customers use energy when it is being produced.
Late last year National Grid paid customers to use electricity during a few nights, mostly to charge their cars, while offshore wind farms churned out large amounts of energy.
Nicola Shaw, the UK executive director of National Grid, said: “It’s critical that the regulator, government and industry are aligned to decarbonise the energy sector in the journey to net zero at the lowest cost to consumers, and we both welcome and share Ofgem’s commitment to achieving this.”
The plan has nine actions, including proposals to publish a strategy for electric vehicles setting out how the grid can meet the increased demand.
Citizens Advice chief executive Dame Gillian Guy commented: “People need to understand why these changes are needed, they will need help and support to make those changes and strong consumer protections if things go wrong.”
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