Tracey Barlow has been appointed as the independent chair of Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks’ (SSEN) customer engagement group (CEG).
Barlow will lead the group’s members, representing network stakeholders, consumers, energy users and those with a specialist interest in the development and transition of the electricity distribution network in central southern England and the north of Scotland.
Her appointment follows a successful year as independent chair of SSEN Transmission’s RIIO-T2 user group, providing input and robust challenge to SSEN’s recently-published plans for the future of the north of Scotland electricity transmission system.
Barlow’s experience as chairperson of AGT Ltd, deputy chairman of the UK Rail Regulator and her expertise as an independent consultant specialising in business transformation in the energy, transport and utility sectors brings strong leadership experience, particularly in the field of regulation, to SSEN’s business.
Commenting on her appointment, Barlow said: “This is a tremendous opportunity to build a strong consumer-focused team to work with the company and provide both challenge and support in developing an ambitious plan for this next period.
“This plan must reflect consumer needs, maximise opportunities arising from the anticipated changes in the electricity distribution system to deliver decarbonisation and show how efficiencies and innovation will make customer service and operational resilience the best it can possibly be.
“On a personal level, I am delighted to accept this appointment. My learning from chairing the transmission user group and working with the Ofgem team is a great platform to bring very relevant experience to this new role.”
Colin Nicol, managing director of networks at SSEN, added: “Tracey is a high-calibre appointment and we are delighted she will now lead our CEG for RIIO-ED2.
“As chair of our RIIO-T2 user group, Tracey was instrumental in driving independent challenge to the development of our ambitious plans for the transmission system in the north of Scotland, which are far richer as a result.
“We’re looking forward to Tracey bringing the same wealth of independent expertise, insight and experience to our distribution business as we prepare for the next price control.
“As we look to prioritise investment, improve network resilience and enable the transition to a smart, flexible and decarbonised electricity system, the CEG will have a vital role to help us ensure customer and stakeholder needs remain at the forefront of our plans.”
As part of the RIIO2 price controls set out by Ofgem, distribution network operators (DNOs) are required to set up independently chaired customer engagement groups.
This, the industry regulator says, will challenge the business plans proposed by the network companies for the next round of price controls.
As well as the CEGs, Ofgem will establish an independent RIIO2 challenge group to look at plans proposed by the companies. This will operate in parallel with the CEGs.