Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the ADE: Demand report entitled Powered by People, Powered by Place, whether his Department plans to provide guidance on the expectations for reliability and planning for demand flexibility as compared with traditional infrastructure assets within Regional Energy Strategic Plans frameworks.

The Government has noted and is considering the recommendations in the Association for Decentralised Energy's report, Powered by People, Powered by Place.

Responsibility for the development of Regional Energy Strategic Plans (RESPs) and the associated governance arrangements sits with the National Energy System Operator (NESO), under Ofgem's policy framework and guidance. Following their consultation, NESO is currently finalising the RESP methodology. DESNZ Secretary of State and Ofgem are due to review and approve the methodology in due course.

RESPs are intended to support whole-system planning across electricity, gas, heat and hydrogen networks at the distribution level, and consider industrial energy demand, heat networks, storage and flexibility.