Ofgem approved a request from the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to skip existing licence requirements for four separate electricity and gas planning reports, clearing the way for a single Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP) due by December 15, 2028.
What the CSNP replaces
The derogations cover Licence Conditions C12 and C13 of NESO's Electricity System Operator Licence and C8 of its Gas System Planner Licence, the rules that currently require NESO to produce the Network Options Assessment, the Electricity Ten Year Statement, the Gas Options Advice Document and the Gas Network Capability Needs Report. A licence derogation is a formal exemption Ofgem grants a regulated company from a rule it would otherwise have to meet. Once published, the CSNP will fold the information from all four reports into one plan covering electricity and gas transmission networks and hydrogen transport and storage across Great Britain, work tied to the government's net zero ambitions.
Conditions attached to the approval
Ofgem's approval carries conditions. The exemptions hold only if the CSNP keeps to its current timeline. Ofgem is keeping the underlying licence conditions in place as a contingency and can amend or revoke the derogations, or direct NESO to produce transitional plans, if the CSNP programme slips. Any such direction would come after Ofgem consults NESO and with enough lead time before the affected work would need to start.
Ofgem said it expects to remove the licence conditions tied to the reports the CSNP replaces once that transition is complete.
