UK Energy Sector: Summer of Change

The summer of 2021 may well shape the UK energy sector (and the related sectors it impacts) for many years to come. Ofgem and BEIS released over forty consultations from June to September. Some of these come from the extra impetus given to the decarbonisation agenda, with a focus on publishing demonstrable policies and steps forward before the start of COP26 in Glasgow. However, none of these consultations predicted or took into account the issues that have dominated the front pages of newspapers since late summer, relating to supplier failures, gas price rises and fuel shortages on forecourts.

This document summarises the main consultations and publications issued over the summer under the headings of networks, new and emerging technologies, and the wider industry structure and regulatory frameworks. The outcome of these consultation processes will play a key role in reshaping our sector for the coming years and in achieving the UK’s wider societal and political ambitions. As noted, further and possibly deeper reviews of the sector are inevitable and so this will not be the end of the run of consultations. Anyone with an interest in the future of the sector will need to stay on top of the proposals coming thick and fast from BEIS and Ofgem.