In the inquiry on network costs, MPs heard that a fast track planning process for some distribution and transmission developments would be “beneficial”.
Frank Mitchell, chief executive of Scottish Power Energy Networks, told the committee the long planning process adds costs to the network charges.
He said: “Putting copper in the ground and hanging overhead lines is fraught with planning issues.
“You use a lot of money up in that process to get through it.”
John Pettigrew, executive director of National Grid, agreed things could be improved, and told the committee that the current planning system “is a long process”.
He said: “The challenge is the planning process.
“It’s quite a long process, and I think there is the opportunity to put some flexibility into that; when it is a less major project, there could be a fast track way of getting through the planning act.”
Pettigrew also stated that the regional variations in the charges, as opposed to a standard nationwide charge, was a fairer system, and allowed National Grid to manage the system more efficiently.
He said: “The risk to customers more broadly is that without those signals you could end up investing more in transmission than you need because people aren’t taking into account the transmission and locating miles and miles away from transmission system and not picking up the cost of that and generally the customers pick up the costs of that.”
Jeremy Nicholson, director of the Energy Intensive Users Group, agreed and said that there was an “overall benefit” to having regional costs as it helped to ensure that connection costs were as low as possible.
He added that while consumers were going to “pay very heavily” for the connection of green and low carbon generation sources, the regional variance in network costs would help to ensure it is “at least done in a cost efficient way”.
During the two and half hour session, the panel unanimously agreed that incorporating network costs onto energy bills would be a welcome step.
Graham Edwards, chief executive at Wales and West Utilities, said the move would be “great” and that “it would dispel the myths” behind what is causing energy bills to increase.