SSEN has welcomed the National Infrastructure Commission's (NIC) study on the future of electricity distribution networks, endorsing its call for greater proactive investment to support decarbonisation.

The company supports the NIC's recommendation for a shift to a more proactive network investment regime, ensuring capacity is available where and when needed to accelerate decarbonisation and local economic growth. This aligns with SSEN's own Strategic Development Plans, which extend to 2050 and cover its licence areas in central southern England and the north of Scotland.

"This is a very important and timely report, and we welcome the bold, ambitious vision the NIC has laid out for the future of distribution networks, including recommending a shift from a reactive ‘steady state' investment process, to a proactive and efficient approach that will support our customers in a net zero world," said Chris Burchell, Managing Director of SSEN Distribution.

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SSEN has long advocated for reforms to ensure distribution networks enable, rather than hinder, decarbonisation and growth. The NIC's findings, they say, validate their regional strategic development approach.

"At SSEN, we've long called for reform to the mechanisms to ensure distribution networks enable - and don't hinder - decarbonisation and growth," Burchell added. "The NIC's findings align with our own conclusions on how proactive investment in distribution networks can spur growth in local economies, and they also provide important validation for our regional strategic development approach to deliver decarbonisation for our communities."

SSEN is ready to collaborate with the UK Government and Ofgem to implement the recommendations and create proactive investment mechanisms. They will continue to propose efficient investments that minimize long-term costs for consumers.

Burchell also noted the alignment between the NIC's vision and Ofgem's proposed framework for RIIO-ED3, the next electricity distribution price control starting in 2028. SSEN supports the NIC's call for doubling investment levels during this period to support local economic growth and decarbonisation, agreeing that the impact on customer bills will be limited and that long-term costs will ultimately be lower.

"Ofgem's proposed framework for its next price control, RIIO-ED3, demonstrates it's moving in a similar direction to the vision proposed by the NIC. We hope the important conclusions from today's report provide extra confidence and reassurance to the regulator that it's on the right path," he concluded.