Green Energy
Innovating the grid
Opinion: Why we need transformational change to unlock investment in the UK’s future electricity networks.
S
pencer Thompson, CEO of Eclipse Power Group, refl ects on current changes in the transmission and distribution networks, and the need for more innovative solutions if we’re to build a network for net zero. We all understand that the way the UK generates and consumes power is changing: more renewables, diff erent demand centres and a more tricky balance between electricity supply and use. We need to adapt and evolve the grid, adding capacity, but also engineering more fl exibility into the entire electricity network. Change is necessary to meet two important milestones. First is the government’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, which aims to decarbonise the UK grid. For the second – net zero – the electricity network must be able to support both a huge increase in electricity use, and an even greater transformation in the times, places and manner in which power is both generated and consumed. The good news is that nearly everyone – government, regulator, and most of the industry – recognises the scale and speed of the revolution we need. And changes are already afoot.
Fixing the grid
When we talk about the UK energy network, we’re actually talking about two interconnected systems. The transmission network operates at very high
18 | electrical wholesalerDecember 2025
voltages, carrying power from major generators to major areas of use. Typically, electricity then feeds into the distribution network, which steps it down to more manageable voltages and distributes it to end users.
I have written before of the urgent need to introduce competition within the transmission network; an idea that was fi rst mooted nearly a decade ago. Eclipse has previously applied to Ofgem to become the fi rst independent transmission operator. This would enable us to compete with the monopoly incumbents as we have in the distribution space. Competition here has been a huge success, with independent distribution network operators (IDNOs) like Eclipse able to off er quicker and more fl exible grid connections and drive up customer service standards.
Yet despite recent progress, no transmission projects have been put out to tender, and we only have another two decades to complete net zero grid upgrades. In truth, the grid needs a revolution comprising many improvements and changes: it needs innovation – running across the way the network is designed, used and managed.
Local electrons
In many cases, grid challenges can be partially addressed by rethinking the way we use existing wires. Take the demand for more capacity to link
distant centres of generation and use. A recent Institution of Engineering and Technology report costed 5,000 megawatt overhead line at £40 million per 15 kilometres, not to mention the land, planning and supply chain constraints on building new transmission links. Yet by siting demand projects such as the government’s AI Growth Zones near to renewable generation, we need less in the way of transmission upgrades to get them up and running.
We can further reduce the demands on the grid by co-locating signifi cant users and providers of power in the same place, for example by building an EV charging hub together with a solar farm and battery storage – such as at InstaVolt’s fl agship Three Maids Hill charging superhub. In these projects, operators save on network costs and benefi t from a smaller grid connection that can be much quicker to obtain.
There are other ways to make better use of existing infrastructure. Because power networks are built for peak requirements, moving demand out of peak times allows for more effi cient use of what’s already there. To use a road analogy, instead of adding lanes to deal with a brief daily rush hour, we can support a big growth in overall traffi c by encouraging people to take journeys at other times of the day.
This is already being achieved through so- called load-shifting schemes. Demand-side
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