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UTILITY WEEK | OCTOBER 2020 | 15 Build Back Better Who said what… pretend what it will cost to do this, and tell the network what they should do it at'." She rails against the uncertainty of such an approach, and says: "There are tens of projects sitting stacked up that we are to con- tinue to develop, until Ofgem says 'OK, that will go to competition'. Or not. "And we're not being paid to develop those projects under the dra determina- tion. So for sure, I'd like to be paid to develop those projects." "So in the white paper, I want clarity: is it competition or is it not?" Another major source of frustration is the planning regime, which stacks the risks unfairly against National Grid . "Currently we have double jeopardy. Where we are developing a project, we have to get planning permission to do it. And the way you do that is through this development consent order. To get a development consent order, the secretary of state has to say that the project is of national significance. "Ofgem is saying that once we've done that, it will then decide whether or not the project is needed – there's no 'needs case' until Ofgem decides. But you have to demon- strate that it's needed in order to get permis- sion. Which is da. "Getting planning permission for any- thing costs millions. Hinkley was a good example. We got planning permission by including the T-pylon across the Somerset Levels. Our QC told us you won't get it with- out that, you've got to have some under- grounding, some overhead lining, and some pylon, to get it all the way through, because of what stakeholders in those communities are saying. "We did it, we got the planning permis- sion. Ofgem then says 'we're not sure you really needed the T pylons, and they're more expensive, so we might not pay for it'. "That kind of jeopardy for shareholders is just too much. So I would also like, either in the energy white paper – or the planning white paper that government is developing for the end of the year – it to be really clear that Ofgem has to participate in the develop- ment consent order. "At the moment, they are consulted, they just don't respond." ESO sell-off What about the forced sale of the ESO, rumoured to be in the white paper? Would National Grid challenge that? Shaw says that government is coming at it the wrong way. "I'd go back a step and ask, what do we have to do for the purposes of achieving net zero effectively? Starting with "If you don't want to make a decision, you can always find a reason for not making it," JOHN ARMITT, CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE COMMISSION, ON THE LACK OF ENERGY POLICY COMING OUT OF BEIS AND THE RISK TO NET ZERO "If we can instil some positive behaviours, particularly in terms of water efficiency, link that to energy efficiency, link that to our climate mitigation and adaptation – that's got to be a priority." PETER SIMPSON, CEO OF ANGLIAN WATER AND CO-CHAIR THE PRINCE OF WALES CORPORATE LEADERS GROUP "Working with innovative local authorities like Nottingham, Warrington, Bristol and Manchester is critical. Many councils sit on large asset portfolios of public buildings and land, which could be invested in energy projects." POLLY BILLINGTON, DIRECTOR, UK100 NETWORK, MAKES THE CASE FOR JOINED-UP THINKING TO BUILD BACK BETTER "Blackpool currently has an unemployment rate of almost three times the national average and some of the UK's most energy inefficient homes. Government investment in energy efficiency will improve the state of Blackpool's housing stock, creating hundreds of jobs and stimulate spending locally." MICHAEL LEWIS, EON UK CEO, ON THE PRESSING ISSUE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY continued overleaf UtilityWeek All these top executives will be speakers at our the Build Back Better Forum. For more information visit: event.utilityweek.co.uk/buildbackbetter/