BRITAIN'S ENERGY INVESTMENT £40 BLN

ENERDATA - 10 Dec 2020 - The UK energy regulator has approved a £40bn (€44.3bn) investment plan for 2021-2026, which seeks to improve the country's gas and electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure and to deliver emissions-free green energy. Compared to a July 2020 proposal, the parastatal increased upfront spending on infrastructure by £5bn (€5.5bn) to £30bn (€33.2bn) and granted additional funding of £10bn (€11.1bn) for future green energy projects. The plan proposes to reduce the rate of return for network companies to 4.3% (down from the current 6-7%), allowing income from consumer bills to help pay for improvements instead, and to cut more than £8bn from company spending plans by setting more ambitious efficiency targets and blocking costs that firms have not justified as delivering value for consumers.

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