Today, Western Power Distribution (WPD) has unveiled its far-reaching and ambitious plans for the RIIO-ED2 price control programme.
Our draft business plan not only cements WPD’s commitment to helping the UK achieve net zero, but is underpinned by close collaboration with our local communities to ensure everyone can benefit from the journey.
To achieve this, we have worked with more stakeholders than ever before, including electricity customers, local authorities, charities and other energy providers, to co-create a business plan that places their needs at the heart of our strategy going forward.
Created by you, delivered by us
As part of this, we have launched a period of stakeholder consultation on the first draft of our 2023-2028 plan, encouraging as much feedback as possible ahead of submission to the regulator, Ofgem, in December.
We’ve created a special tool on our website to enable relevant parties to develop their own version of our business plan by indicating where they think we should go beyond current targets or consider new commitments entirely. These insights will then be analysed and used to revise the current version of the plan to ensure WPD’s strategic direction is as closely aligned with the views of stakeholders as possible and best positioned to meet the needs of local communities.
The current version of the business plan has been produced following two years of engagement with more than 4,500 stakeholders from a range of backgrounds. It outlines 67 core commitments aimed at meeting the needs of consumers and network users, maintaining a safe and resilient network, and delivering an environmentally sustainable proposition.
We plan to invest £6 billion, including increased spending on decarbonisation, digitalisation and network utilisation. But, while annual network expenditure is set to go up compared to RIIO-ED1 levels, we expect customer bills to remain broadly in line with current levels.
It is vital that the cost of achieving net zero is not met by burdening our customers, but that we engage with them throughout the process to ensure no-one is left behind by the transition to a smarter energy system.
Local approach
The RIIO-ED2 period will be key to advancing the UK’s net zero targets, which is why we must plan effectively now for the challenges ahead.
There is no doubt that the investment required will be substantial over the coming decades, but there is no time to waste. Where possible, we must get ahead of the future investments required and ensure there is no backlog that could result in substantial bill increases for future customers.
With this in mind, WPD believes that stakeholder engagement with relevant communities is absolutely vital as local routes to green growth will play a key part in the delivery of net zero targets over the coming years.
In addition to our current business plan consultation, we also run an ongoing engagement programme with local stakeholders – including 130 local authorities – to help develop regionally-focused future energy scenarios and investment forecasts to feed into our forward-looking strategies.
A network for all
We’ve all learned a lot of lessons from the challenges of the last year, particularly about the vital importance of caring for the vulnerable in our communities.
While the purpose of our call for input is to create a dynamic and proactive business plan, we must also remain flexible in the face of the changing energy landscape to ensure no one is left behind.
Though the road to net zero is unlikely to be straightforward, we are confident that, by collaborating closely with our stakeholders, we can build an electricity network that meets the future needs of all our customers.