Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether Distribution Network Operators’ plans to upgrade local systems will meet additional power needs should their electric vehicle and domestic heat pump targets be met by 2030.

The regulation of electricity networks is the responsibility of Ofgem as the independent energy regulator and the Distribution Network Operators. Ofgem use price controls, known as RIIO, to determine the revenues that Distribution Network Operators recover, the investment they make and the performance standards they must deliver. As part of this process, Distribution Network Operators forecast likely take-up of electric vehicles and heat pumps.

In December, the Distribution Network Operators published their final business plans for the upcoming electricity distribution price control due to commence in April 2023. Within these plans, Distribution Network Operators have committed to addressing the barriers to electric vehicle uptake and have forecast heat pump deployment that is compatible with Government’s ambition to deploy 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028. Ofgem is working to enable future changes via various mechanisms, including a Net Zero Re-Opener, whereby DNOs can seek additional funding for Net Zero related projects, such as catering for greater uptake of electric vehicles and heat pumps.