Electricity North West (ENW) has committed to investing £650,000 a day into its regional network between 2023 and 2028 in order to support the connection of 500 electric vehicles (EV) per day.
The distribution network operator (DNO), which is responsible for maintaining the region’s power network, revealed the latest figures during Net Zero Week (2– 8 July), designed to provide expert advice on how people and businesses can support efforts to tackle climate change.
The latest forecasts demonstrate that the North West region is on its way to see up to 1.2 million EVs on roads before 2030, ENW said.
As a result, ENW expects power demand to increase by a third by 2030 and has created a plan to show how it will ensure the network is ready for the higher demand, which it said it would deliver at the lowest cost to consumers and reducing the operator’s contribution to energy bills by at least 5.5% a year.
ENW said it was its job to ensure the grid had enough capacity to accommodate higher electricity demand as EVs become more popular and as businesses and households try to cut their carbon emissions by switching to “all-electric homes”.
It is planning to make the invest during the RIIO-ED2 price control period between 2023 and 2028.
Ofgem last week unveiled its “landmark five year vision”, which sets the framework and revenue that each of Britain’s DNOs can earn from charges on consumers’ energy bills.
“It’s our job to make sure everyone living and working in the North West can continue to depend on the network, just as they do now, even with all these rapid changes,” said ENW’s head of innovation and modernisation strategies, Steve Cox.
“We expect the number of electric vehicles on the North West’s roads to soar from around 20,000 now to more than 1.2 million by the end of the decade – and we’re ready to support that shift.”
In April, ENW appointed Ian Smyth as CEO, with it expected that Smyth will take over from Peter Emery later this year.