Aldersgate Group reaction: Support UK electrification and strengthen resilience

Aldersgate Group Executive Director, Rachel Solomon Williams, reacting to the government’s clean energy drive policy measures, said: “Continued investment in clean power since the last energy crisis has helped shield the UK from the worst impacts of recent shocks, demonstrating the clear value of reducing reliance on volatile international fossil fuel markets.

“We support the government’s ambition for a rapid transition towards an economy based upon clean power, and welcome today’s wide-ranging announcement. Measures to reform planning and accelerate grid connections, strengthened support for electrification technologies including solar, electric vehicles and heat pumps, and the decisive action to delink gas and electricity prices are all important steps forward.

“To build lasting national resilience, further support for clean power generation must go hand in hand with action to accelerate electrification across the economy. We would like to see greater government focus on several areas: the strategic prioritisation of demand for electricity; further rebalancing of policy costs on energy bills; targeted support for industrial electrification; and a focus on charging infrastructure for electric HGVs.”

—ENDS—

In more detail, our policy priorities for the UK on energy are:

1. Strategic prioritisation of electrification demand 
   A wholesale reprioritisation of electricity demand across government policy is needed, spanning spatial and regional energy planning, grid connection reform, and direct policy support.
   There must be a clear alignment between the government’s industrial strategy and power sector plans, supported by robust decision-making frameworks across government to provide clear signals for investment, resolve trade-offs and remove regulatory barriers.
2. Rebalancing policy costs on electricity 
   Building on from the Autumn budget announcement, further removal of policy levies from electricity bills for households and businesses would strengthen the business case for electrification and ease near-term electricity cost pressures.
   This would support broader, economy-wide investment in an electrified future.
3. Targeted support for industrial electrification 
   We welcome the recent expansion of the BICS scheme; however, it is primarily a competitiveness measure and not designed to drive electrification.
   A dedicated, targeted scheme is needed to support industrial and manufacturing businesses in transitioning to electric processes.

4. Accelerating infrastructure to support electric heavy goods vehicles (HGVs)
   Greater focus is needed on building out charging infrastructure to enable the electrification of HGVs at scale.