During the third reading of the Energy Security Bill in the House of Lords this week (17 April) passed an amendment that will give Ofgem a statutory duty to assist in the delivery of net zero.
Tabled by Baroness Hayman, Lord Hollick, Baroness Altmann and Lord Teverson, the amendment regarded “GEMA general duties relating to climate change” and would grant the UK’s electricity regulator a net zero mandate.
GEMA refers to Ofgem’s governing body, the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority.
An Ofgem spokesperson told Current±: “This is a decision for Government as Ofgem operates under a statutory remit set by it and any decision on changing our remit is for Government to make.”
“Our duty to protect the interests of current and future consumers and ensure sustainable development of the energy sector, is entirely consistent with the net zero mandate.”
The amendment follows UK energy trade associations expressing concerns over the extent of power that Ofgem has to deliver net zero and has been welcomed by various members of the energy sector.
“Reforming Ofgem’s mandate to consider net zero in every decision takes is long overdue. We’re glad that the House of Lords has listened to calls from across the energy sector to make this vital change and hope that MPs will support it when the Energy Bill goes back to the Commons in the weeks ahead,” said head of public affairs at RenewableUK, Nathan Bennett.
“The change would empower Ofgem to ramp up the pace and scale of investment in new grid infrastructure, in turn enabling the roll out of more wind, solar and tidal stream projects. At the moment some wind farms are waiting for more than ten years to get a connection. This reform would allow us to build a grid that’s fit for purpose for the twenty-first century.
Refreshing Ofgem’s mandate so that it better enables the UK’s shift to clean energy is ultimately in the interest of billpayers, as renewable projects are our cheapest source of new power, lowering energy bills as well as strengthening Britain’s energy security.”
Lawrence Slade, Chief Executive of Energy Networks Association, added: “Yesterday’s vote in the Lords reinforced the shared view of industry and civil society, that we must have a regulator which is fully aligned with net zero.”
“As we build the energy system of the future, it’s critical that we all pull in the same direction to secure the scale of investment needed in everything from heat pumps to hydrogen and turbines to pylons.”
