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ENA response: Future System Operator announcement

06 April 2022

The UK Government has announced plans to launch a new public body, the Future System Operator, to oversee the energy network.

 

The Future System Operator (FSO), to be launched once legislation is passed and timelines have been discussed with key parties, will look at the Great Britain’s energy system as a whole, integrating existing networks with emerging technologies such as hydrogen.

Commenting on today's announcement, David Smith, Chief Executive of Energy Networks Association, which represents the UK and Ireland’s energy network companies, said:

“We all know that Net Zero is a major step-change for the entire energy industry and we are glad that the government has been able to give this clear direction on the Future System Operator. Coordination and cooperation across electricity and gas transmission and distribution networks, as well as all other players in the energy sector will allow us to make even greater strides towards decarbonising effectively and efficiently.”

Notes to editor

  • There is a need for the industry to recognise that the scale and complexity of the changes required, particularly at a distribution level, are significantly larger and therefore need to be fully understood and well evidenced when considering interactions with the FSO and any other changes at a distribution level.
  • As part of the shift to FSO, there is an opportunity to holistically consider the wider market reforms and ensure that the FSO proposal ties in with other policy areas, including work on network charging (i.e. Ofgem-led Significant Code Reviews), full chain flexibility, Ofgem's review of network planning,  digitalisation, and the government's hydrogen strategy.

Photo courtesy of National Grid.

About us

Energy Networks Association (ENA) is the industry body representing the energy networks. Our members include every major electricity network operator in the UK. The electricity networks are at the heart of the energy transition. They directly employ more than 26,000 people in the UK, including 1,500 apprentices. They are spending and investing £33bn in our electricity grids over the coming years, to ensure safe, reliable and secure energy supplies for the millions of homes and businesses reliant on power every day.

Press contacts

You can contact ENA's press office by emailing press@energynetworks.org. For urgent or out-of-hours enquiries from journalists, please call 0204 599 7691.