22 November 2023
If you are covering the announcements of proposed reforms to the electricity grid in the Autumn Statement, please find below a comment from Tom Gilbey, equity research analyst at Quilter Cheviot:
“If the UK is to reach its net zero ambitions or wants to promote the use of renewable sources of energy, connections to the electricity grid need to be sped up. Ultimately this means investing in critical infrastructure and ensuring the UK isn’t reliant on either overseas sources of fuel or on energy stores that are declining. It is pleasing, therefore, to see the government take action in the Autumn Statement to reform the grid connection process and free up capacity to get projects switched on sooner.
“The government has also announced it is setting out an action plan to halve the time to build new grid infrastructure to seven years and introduce incentives for communities who live near these projects. It is pleasing to see some momentum in this space and further use of renewables, and improved infrastructure, should see energy bills fall.
“For investors, this will also be beneficial for those companies involved in the energy transition, especially SSE and National Grid – who provide a lot of the critical infrastructure on these projects and have been particularly vocal about the delays experienced. Further investment will result in a bigger asset base for these companies and should result in even more business investment down the line, all the while attracting more renewables to the energy mix.”
