With his promotion to chief executive of Ofgem at a time of huge change within the industry, Jonathan Brearley may finally be able to escape the immediate association with his name.
For the past decade mention of Brearley has inevitably been followed by the words “architect of the electricity market reform (EMR)”.
While the EMR may be his notable achievement, Cambridge-educated Brearley’s CV makes for interesting reading. He began his career as part of Tony Blair’s strategy unit, as an adviser and then deputy director. He then moved into a role advising the government on its climate change policy before taking up the role of director of strategy at what was then the department of energy and climate change.
In September 2009, he was appointed director of energy markets and networks at what was then the department of energy and climate change, under the secretary of state at the time, Ed Miliband.
It was in this role that he designed the EMR, a fundamental shake-up of the policy framework underpinning the energy market, aimed at addressing the triple challenge of securing supply, decarbonising the power sector and keeping consumer bills affordable.
It led to the Energy Act 2013, which introduced the Capacity Market and the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. As Brearley now prepares to take to helm at Ofgem both of these key mechanisms of the reforms stand at a crucial point. The European Commission has now spent more than six months conducting its investigation into whether the Capacity Market is in breech of State Aid rules but is remaining tight-lipped over when it will deliver its verdict. Meanwhile, the CfD auction process is also facing its own legal challenge, over claims that is it is prejudiced against onshore wind.
Despite being the driving force of the EMR, Brearley made a surprise exit from government in September 2013, as the legislation was still going through parliament, to set up his own consultancy. For the next three years, he advised investors on risks and opportunities in energy markets both in the UK and overseas, as well as supporting foreign governments on energy and climate change policies.
In 2016, Brearley joined Ofgem to lead on the regulator’s oversight of the networks. Since then he has been heavily involved in the design of network price controls, the tender processes for offshore wind farm connections and the development of power connections from the UK across Europe. Most recently he has been involved with the investigation into August’s blackouts and what lessons need to be learnt.
Following the announcement about his promotion, questions will inevitably be asked about the length of the handover process. Dermot Nolan is due to remain in position until February but that timescale would appear to have been laid out in the anticipation of an external candidate either having to give notice or requiring a detailed handover. With Brearley’s in-depth knowledge of the sector and the organisation, could his official coronation come sooner than expected?