Who sets policy, regulates, operates and delivers across the Great Britain energy system in May 2026

These notes read the institutional map of the Great Britain energy system from the statute up: who decides, who regulates, who operates the wires and the pipes, who runs the markets, and who steps in when a household has a problem with a bill or a connection. Roughly forty organisations carry a statutory or operational role; the page lists each one, names its instrument and its current load-bearing fact, and sets it in the chain that runs from Parliament through to a meter. The institutional atlas at the end (authority, operations, redress) explains the system in a single sitting to a lawyer, a planner or a settlement engineer.

Last verified 28 May 2026

Sources and standards for the stakeholder map

Every statutory and quantitative claim resolves to a primary source from Ofgem, NESO, DESNZ, Elexon, BSI, the Energy Networks Association, or legislation.gov.uk. Membership counts, headcount and budget figures are drawn from each organisation's most recent annual report or About page and are noted with the date of retrieval.

Who sets policy, regulates, operates and delivers in May 2026

Before the role families, the live institutional map. May 2026 sits inside a window of unusually dense reform across the bodies the system runs on, so a stakeholder snapshot has to be dated. Roughly forty organisations carry a statutory or operational role that touches a household bill or a network connection. The shortest way to read the map is by what each body is allowed to do, not by who it reports to. Parliament writes the statutes. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) writes the policy. Ofgem, through the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (GEMA), writes the licence conditions and the price controls. NESO plans and runs the electricity system. National Gas Transmission runs the gas backbone. The code bodies, the Distribution Network Operators (DNOs), the Transmission Owners (TOs), the suppliers and the interconnector operators deliver. The consumer-facing bodies (Citizens Advice, the Energy Ombudsman, the Extra Help Unit) step in when a service has not resolved a customer's issue.

DESNZ was created on 7 February 2023 in the machinery-of-government change that split the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Its remit covers energy policy, security of supply, decarbonisation and Ofgem sponsorship; the Secretary of State is the Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP as of 28 May 2026.12 Ofgem operates under the Gas Act 1986 and the Electricity Act 1989 through GEMA. NESO has been a public corporation independent of National Grid plc since 1 October 2024 under the Energy Act 2023, with a remit covering electricity balancing, transmission planning, gas system coordination and (in time) hydrogen and CCUS planning.20 Inside the first eighteen months it issued the Connections Reform Gate 2 outcomes in April 2026 and saw the Centralised Strategic Network Plan methodology approved by Ofgem in April 2026.28 32 National Gas Transmission, owned by a Macquarie-led consortium since the January 2023 acquisition from National Grid plc, runs the day-to-day operation of the gas National Transmission System, with NESO holding the strategic gas planning role above it.

The headline statutes form the chain. The Electricity Act 1989 created the licence regime that every electricity actor still holds today: a generation licence, a transmission licence, a distribution licence or a supply licence, each issued by GEMA under conditions Ofgem can vary.22 The Gas Act 1986 did the same for gas. The Climate Change Act 2008 set the eighty percent reduction target later raised to one hundred percent by the 27 June 2019 amendment, the system of five-year carbon budgets, and the Climate Change Committee as a statutory adviser. The Energy Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023 and supplied the framework for NESO, code reform, the heat-networks regulator role and the data-sharing arrangements the Digitalisation of Energy framework needs. The Great British Energy Act 2025 created Great British Energy as a public investment vehicle headquartered in Aberdeen, capitalised at 8.3 billion pounds over the Parliament. The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 19 June 2025, with core provisions in force from 5 February 2026 under Commencement Orders 5 and 6, and Section 138 in force on 6 February 2026.17 33 34

The price controls and the strategic plans set the cadence the rest of the bodies work to. The RIIO-3 price controls covering 2026 to 2031 commit 28.1 billion pounds of initial investment across transmission and distribution. The Default Tariff Cap (the household price cap, set by Ofgem each quarter) is the load-bearing consumer-protection number; Q2 2026 to 2027 was determined in May 2026 for the period 1 July 2026 to 30 September 2026.27 The first Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) iteration lands in Q4 2026 with public consultation in early 2027 and the final SSEP in Autumn 2027.19 The first Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP) delivery is due by the end of 2028, with a transitional T-CSNP due in June 2026 that bridges from the Network Options Assessment.20 28

The data layer reshapes the relationships. The Long Term Development Statement publishes its Stage 2 on 29 May 2026 under the third derogation letter of 13 May 2026; the BSI CIM Engagement Hub is the official location of record for the LTDS data-exchange definition artefacts.2 4 Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement, delivered through Elexon under BSC P408, cuts over in July 2027 with around 80 percent of 33 million meters migrated by October 2026.18 24 Ofgem became the heat-networks regulator on 27 January 2026 under SI 2026/7, extending its remit beyond gas and electricity for the first time since 1999.31

So the stakeholder map in May 2026 has a settled high-level architecture (DESNZ in policy, Ofgem in regulation, NESO in electricity system operation, National Gas Transmission in gas system operation, the code bodies running the rulebooks, the networks and suppliers delivering, the redress bodies catching what the rest of the chain misses) and a roughly twelve-month pipeline of operational reform that touches almost every body in turn. The body sections that follow take the institutional families one at a time. The institutional atlas at the bottom of the workspace gives three views of the same map: who holds authority, who runs operations, where complaints and consumer harm go.

Forty bodies, eight role families, the GB energy stakeholder map in May 2026

Sourced to the Gas Act 1986, the Electricity Act 1989, the Climate Change Act 2008, the Energy Act 2023 and the May 2026 Ofgem letter on the LTDS derogation. The eight role families give the canonical way into the stakeholder map, each carrying the body names, the statutory instrument behind each one, and its current load-bearing fact. The arrows show the formal handovers: statutory direction, licence conditions, code approvals, settlement runs, complaints back up.

Forty Great Britain energy bodies arranged in eight role families, May 2026 A vertical stakeholder map of the Great Britain energy system arranged in eight role-family rows from top to bottom: policy and legislation, regulation, system operation, codes and settlement, standards bodies, network owners and operators, suppliers and generators, and consumer-facing bodies. Each row is a coloured band with three to six labelled boxes, each box giving the body name, the founding instrument and one current load-bearing fact. Downward arrows between rows mark formal authority (statute, licence conditions, code approvals, settlement). One upward dashed arrow on the right marks complaint and consumer-harm intelligence flowing back from the redress bodies to Ofgem. POLICY AND LEGISLATION Sets the statutes, the missions, the strategic priorities and the fiscal signals. Parliament Energy Act 2023, GBE Act 2025, CCA 2008 DESNZ Created Feb 2023, sponsors Ofgem HM Treasury UK ETS, CBAM from Jan 2027 Climate Change Committee Statutory adviser, carbon budgets Great British Energy GBE Act 2025, GBP 8.3 bn capital REGULATION Translates policy into licence conditions, price controls, code approvals and enforcement. Ofgem / GEMA EA 1989 s.3A, RIIO-3 GBP 28.1 bn Environment Agency Environmental permits, MCPD Health and Safety Executive Gas Safety, ONR partner for nuclear Office for Nuclear Regulation Nuclear safety, security, safeguards Competition and Markets Authority Mergers, appeals from RIIO controls SYSTEM OPERATION Plans the network ahead, balances supply and demand in real time, dispatches generation. NESO Public corp from 1 Oct 2024 National Gas Transmission 7,660 km NTS, 24 compressor stations Data Communications Company Smart meter comms hub, SEC code EMR Delivery Body CfD allocation, Capacity Market CODES AND SETTLEMENT Runs the rulebooks, the settlement machinery and the change processes. Elexon BSC, MHHS, BSC P408 RECCo Retail Energy Code, switching Grid Code panel Issue 6 Rev 37, Apr 2026 Distribution Code panel Issue 59, 24 Apr 2026 UNC, SPAA, MRA, CUSC, STC, SEC Five further gas and electricity codes STANDARDS AND INDUSTRY BODIES Sets the technical artefacts, the engineering recommendations and the trade-association positions. BSI Group CIM Engagement Hub, BS EN IEC 61968 Energy Networks Association G98 / G99 Issue 2, Open Networks ENTSO-E CGMES 3 NC profiles 2.4.1, Mar 2026 IEC 61970-301 Ed 7, 61968-13 Ed 2 Energy UK and trade bodies Suppliers, generators, RenewableUK NETWORK OWNERS AND OPERATORS Owns and operates the wires and the pipes that carry electricity and gas to customers. Three Transmission Owners NGET, SPT, SSEN-T at 400, 275 kV Six DNO groups, 14 areas UKPN, SSEN-D, NGED, ENWL, NPg, SPEN Four Gas Distribution Networks Cadent, NGN, SGN, WWU IDNOs and iGTs Independent connection providers OFTOs Offshore transmission owners SUPPLIERS, GENERATORS AND INTERCONNECTORS Sells electricity and gas to consumers, generates the energy and links Great Britain to neighbours. Energy suppliers Octopus, British Gas, EDF, E.ON, OVO, ScottishPower Generators EDF, Drax, RWE, SSE, Orsted, Vattenfall Nine interconnector operators IFA1/2, BritNed, NSL, Eleclink, Nemo Traders and flexibility providers Limejump, Habitat Energy, Flexitricity CONSUMER-FACING, ADVICE AND REDRESS Advises consumers, supports vulnerable cases and resolves disputes after a supplier has not closed an issue. Citizens Advice CEAR Act 2007, super-complaint power Extra Help Unit Citizens Advice Scotland, vulnerable cases Energy Ombudsman Binding on supplier after 8 weeks Warm Homes Plan GBP 15 bn, 5 million homes target Priority Services Register Held by every supplier and network Statutes and Strategic Priorities Statement Licence conditions and price controls Code administration, settlement runs Technical artefacts and standards Engineering recommendations applied Network access and supply Unresolved customer issues Harm to Ofgem

Eight role families, roughly forty bodies, one stakeholder map for May 2026. Read top to bottom: each arrow marks a formal handover (statute, licence condition, code approval, settlement run, network access, customer issue). The single dashed red arrow on the right shows consumer-harm intelligence travelling back from the redress bodies to Ofgem, which is the only return channel that turns individual cases into licence-condition change.

Policy and legislation, with Parliament, DESNZ, HM Treasury and Great British Energy in May 2026

The policy family writes the statutes the rest of the system runs on, sets the strategic direction the regulator and the system operator are bound by, and supplies the fiscal signals that make low-carbon investment economic. Five organisations carry the role today, with the Climate Change Committee sitting alongside them as a statutory adviser rather than a decision-maker.

Parliament is the apex. Primary legislation sets the framework within which Ofgem regulates, NESO plans and operates, and every licensed company delivers. The Energy Act 2023 (388 sections, twenty schedules) is the most consequential energy statute since the 1989 Electricity Act privatisation framework; it created the public corporation that became NESO, brought heat networks under economic regulation by Ofgem, established the framework for the data-sharing arrangements the energy digitalisation programme needs, and introduced a duty on Ofgem to have regard to the 2050 net-zero target. The Great British Energy Act 2025 created the public investment vehicle described below. The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 19 June 2025, with Commencement Order 5 bringing Section 138 into force on 6 February 2026 and Commencement Order 6 bringing the majority of Part 5's data-protection provisions into force on 5 February 2026.17 33 34

DESNZ (the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero) was created on 7 February 2023 in the machinery-of-government change that split the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. As of 28 May 2026 the Secretary of State is the Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP. DESNZ has around 4,500 staff, sponsors fourteen public bodies including Ofgem, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the Coal Authority, and issues the Strategic Priorities Statement to Ofgem under Section 132 of the Utilities Act 2000. The Statement names the policy goals Ofgem must have regard to; the most recent version names Clean Power 2030, the energy-data layer and consumer protection as the load-bearing priorities.12

HM Treasury holds the fiscal instruments that shape the relative economics of generation, demand and abatement. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme has cleared around forty six pounds per tonne of CO2 on average through 2024; Carbon Price Support adds another eighteen pounds per tonne for power-sector emissions, retained when the Carbon Price Floor was reduced. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism begins on 1 January 2027 to maintain the price signal at the UK border. The Energy Profits Levy, introduced in May 2022 as a temporary windfall measure on oil and gas extraction, was extended by the autumn 2024 budget to March 2030 at a thirty eight percent rate.

Great British Energy was established under the Great British Energy Act 2025, capitalised at 8.3 billion pounds across the Parliament, headquartered in Aberdeen and led by Dan McGrail as CEO from January 2025 with Juergen Maier as Chair. Its mandate is to invest in, own and manage clean energy projects through equity stakes and co-investment; it does not retail electricity or gas to households and does not compete with the licensed suppliers. The first tranche of investments announced in 2025 covered floating offshore wind, marine energy and rooftop solar on public buildings.

The Climate Change Committee sits as an independent statutory adviser, not a decision-maker. Created by the Climate Change Act 2008, it recommends each five-year carbon budget twelve years in advance and reports annually to Parliament on progress against the budgets and adaptation. Its advice carries weight under the Act through the duty on the Secretary of State to give reasons in writing if a carbon budget differs from the Committee's recommendation.

Statutory anchors: Energy Act 2023, Climate Change Act 2008, Electricity Act 1989, Gas Act 1986, Great British Energy Act 2025, Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. Citations used in this section: 12 17 22 33 34.

Regulation, with Ofgem, the Environment Agency, the ONR and the CMA in May 2026

The regulation family translates policy into the binding instruments that every licensed company has to operate by: licence conditions, price-control settlements, code approvals, environmental permits and the enforcement actions that follow when a condition is breached. Ofgem is the load-bearing body; four other regulators sit alongside it for environmental, nuclear, gas-safety and competition matters.

Ofgem operates through the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (GEMA), an independent non-ministerial government department. Its principal objective under Section 3A of the Electricity Act 1989 and Section 4AA of the Gas Act 1986 is to protect the interests of existing and future consumers, where those interests are taken as a whole; secondary duties include having regard to security of supply, efficiency and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The Energy Act 2023 added a duty under Section 1 (the new Section 3A) to have regard to the 2050 net-zero target.22 Ofgem's load-bearing levers are licence conditions, the RIIO price controls and code approval. RIIO-3 covers the price-control period 2026 to 2031 and commits an initial 28.1 billion pounds of investment across transmission and distribution networks, with stretching incentives on connection times, customer service and decarbonisation. The Default Tariff Cap (the household price cap, set under the Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act 2018) is reset every quarter; Q2 2026 to 2027 was determined in May 2026 for the period 1 July 2026 to 30 September 2026.27 On 27 January 2026, Ofgem became the heat-networks regulator under the Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/7), extending its remit beyond gas and electricity for the first time since the merger that created it in 1999.31 Ofgem also holds enforcement powers under the Electricity Act 1989 and the Gas Act 1986, with maximum civil penalties of ten percent of global turnover and the power to vary or revoke licences.

The Standard Licence Conditions are the working instrument. SLC 25.2 of the Electricity Distribution Licence is the duty under which DNOs publish the Long Term Development Statement at intervals of not more than seven years.21 The supply licence SLCs cover billing, switching, vulnerable-customer protection (SLC 27), Standards of Conduct (SLC 0), accurate metering and the Priority Services Register obligations. Transmission, generation, interconnector and gas-supply licences each carry their own SLC packs.

The Environment Agency (in England), Natural Resources Wales and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency hold the environmental-permitting role for thermal generation, refining, anaerobic digestion and large industrial installations. Their work covers air-quality permits under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, water discharge consents, waste handling and Medium Combustion Plant Directive compliance for boilers and engines above one megawatt thermal. The Environment Act 2021 strengthened the role of the Office for Environmental Protection that holds the independent oversight on this perimeter.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) runs the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 1996 regime, including the duty on every Gas Safe registered engineer to work within the scheme. HSE also partners with the Office for Nuclear Regulation on conventional safety at nuclear sites. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), created by the Energy Act 2013, regulates nuclear safety, security and safeguards across the civil fleet and the new-build programme; ONR licenses every nuclear installation and approves every fuel-cycle facility under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the competition regulator and the appellate body for RIIO price-control determinations. Licensees can appeal a price-control decision to the CMA on points of law, fact or principle within fifteen working days of the decision; the CMA either upholds the Ofgem decision, quashes it or refers it back. The CMA also reviews mergers in the energy sector under the Enterprise Act 2002 (the Octopus acquisition of Shell Energy Retail in 2023 cleared the CMA after a Phase 1 review).

Statutory anchors: Electricity Act 1989 s.3A, Gas Act 1986 s.4AA, Energy Act 2023 s.1, Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act 2018, Heat Networks (Market Framework) Regulations 2025 + SI 2026/7. Citations used in this section: 21 22 27 31.

System operation, with NESO and National Gas Transmission in May 2026

The system-operation family plans the network ahead, balances supply and demand in real time, dispatches generation and runs the day-to-day operation that keeps frequency at fifty hertz and pressure inside the gas mains. The split is asymmetric. NESO operates the electricity system end-to-end and now holds strategic gas planning; National Gas Transmission runs the gas backbone day-to-day. The Data Communications Company and the EMR Delivery Body sit alongside as the operational counterparts that the system operators rely on.

NESO launched as a public corporation independent of National Grid plc on 1 October 2024 under the Energy Act 2023. It is funded through licence charges rather than the Exchequer; the most recent corporate plan put the annual budget at around 630 million pounds. Its electricity remit covers real-time balancing through the Balancing Mechanism, frequency response and reserve services, the Capacity Market as Delivery Body, CfD Allocation Round administration on DESNZ's behalf, and the operational planning of the Network Options Assessment cycle (transitioning to CSNP). Its strategic remit covers the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (first iteration in Q4 2026, public consultation in early 2027, final SSEP in Autumn 2027) and the Centralised Strategic Network Plan (methodology approved by Ofgem in April 2026, transitional T-CSNP due June 2026, first full CSNP delivery by end-2028).19 20 28 Its gas remit covers strategic gas planning and whole-system coordination, with the day-to-day NTS operation sitting with National Gas Transmission below. NESO also administers the Grid Code, the Connection and Use of System Code (CUSC) and the System Operator-Transmission Owner Code (STC); the latest Grid Code is Issue 6 Revision 37, published 13 April 2026. NESO submitted the GC0139 modification (enhanced planning-data exchange to facilitate whole-system planning, with CGMES v3 directed as the LTDS data standard) to the Authority for decision in late 2025.3 The Electricity Ten Year Statement (ETYS 2024, published January 2025) was the final pre-CSNP iteration of the legacy NOA/ETYS series.13

National Gas Transmission owns and operates the National Transmission System, the high-pressure gas backbone of around 7,660 kilometres serving twenty four compressor stations and around eighty seven offtake points to the regional gas distribution networks. Ownership passed from National Grid plc to a Macquarie-led consortium in January 2023 in a 9.6 billion pound transaction; the operating licence (the Gas Transporter Licence) and the RIIO price control sit with the consortium. Day-to-day operation covers gas-day balancing, linepack management, compressor scheduling and the residual balancing obligation under the Uniform Network Code. Strategic planning of the NTS is now coordinated with NESO under the Energy Act 2023 whole-system remit.

The Data Communications Company (DCC) is the smart-metering communications hub. Created under Section 88 of the Energy Act 2008 and licensed by Ofgem, the DCC connects smart meters (33 million Meter Point Administration Numbers at the SMETS2 generation) to suppliers, network companies and Other Users via the Smart Energy Code (SEC). The DCC does not own the meters; it runs the secure wide-area network and message-exchange layer that lets a supplier read a meter, a network company spot a power outage and a settlement engine pull the half-hourly consumption data that BSC P408 now drives.

The EMR Delivery Body (a function inside NESO since the operator's launch in October 2024) administers the Capacity Market and the Contracts for Difference allocation rounds on DESNZ's behalf. The 2029 to 2030 T-4 Capacity Market auction cleared in February 2026 at twenty seven pounds ten per kilowatt year for forty point one gigawatts; the 2026 to 2027 T-1 cleared in March 2026 at five pounds per kilowatt year for seven point two gigawatts.14 CfD Allocation Round 7 reported on 14 January 2026 with a record eight point four gigawatts of offshore wind awarded; the AR7a budget is now public.30

Statutory anchors: Energy Act 2023 Part 4 (NESO), Gas Act 1986 (Gas Transporter Licence), Energy Act 2008 s.88 (DCC). Citations used in this section: 3 13 14 19 20 28 30.

Industry codes and settlement, with Elexon, RECCo and the code bodies in May 2026

The codes-and-settlement family runs the rulebooks that turn high-level licence conditions into the operational detail that lets a supplier read a meter, a generator clear a bid, a distribution-network operator handle a connection or a household switch between suppliers. Ten codes govern the system; six bodies administer them. The Energy Act 2023 reform powers introduce licensed code managers in place of the current volunteer-panel model, with phased introduction expected from 2026.

Elexon is the Balancing and Settlement Code Company, the central settlement body for the GB electricity wholesale market. Created under the Pool-to-NETA transition in March 2001, Elexon administers the BSC, runs the imbalance pricing and settlement runs, publishes the BMRS Insights Solution API for market data, and is delivering the Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement (MHHS) programme under BSC modification P408.18 24 MHHS migration began on 22 October 2025; around eighty percent of the thirty three million meters are projected to be migrated by October 2026; full implementation completes at Milestone 15 in May 2027 and cutover at Milestone 16 in July 2027, after which all settlement is half-hourly for every consumer.

RECCo (the Retail Energy Code Company) administers the Retail Energy Code, the rulebook that consolidated the supplier-switching, metering data flows and customer-data sharing rules in the 2021 retail-code consolidation. The REC governs the Faster Switching Programme (5-day switching, in operation since 18 July 2022), the Data Transfer Service, and the Central Switching Service the DCC now hosts.

The Grid Code panel (administered by NESO) is the rulebook for connection to, and operation of, the GB transmission system; the latest Grid Code is Issue 6 Revision 37, published on 13 April 2026.8 The Distribution Code Review Panel (independent, chaired by industry) administers the GB Distribution Code; Issue 59 was published on 24 April 2026.9 The Connection and Use of System Code (CUSC) and the System Operator-Transmission Owner Code (STC) sit beside the Grid Code under NESO administration. The Distribution Connection and Use of System Agreement (DCUSA) governs distribution-network use; the Uniform Network Code (UNC) governs the gas NTS; the Supply Point Administration Agreement (SPAA) governs the supplier-meter interface; the Master Registration Agreement (MRA) governs metering point registration. The Smart Energy Code (SEC) governs the DCC and the smart-meter ecosystem.

Code reform sits inside the Energy Act 2023 and is operationalised through Ofgem decisions across 2026 and 2027. The current model relies on volunteer panels of licensee representatives proposing and reviewing modifications, with Ofgem decision at the end. The reform introduces licensed code managers, professionally resourced and accountable to Ofgem, with the power to consolidate codes and accelerate modification processing. Ofgem's strategic direction (published 30 May 2024) named the first managers and the first consolidation rounds; implementation is phased across 2026 and 2027.

Statutory anchors: Electricity Act 1989 Schedule 1 (Codes), Energy Act 2023 Part 3 (Code Reform), BSC P408, Smart Energy Code under Energy Act 2008 s.88. Citations used in this section: 8 9 18 24.

Network owners and operators across electricity and gas in May 2026

The network-owner family owns and operates the wires and the pipes that carry electricity and gas to customers. Three Transmission Owners run the GB electricity backbone at 400 kilovolts and 275 kilovolts; six DNO groups run fourteen distribution licence areas at 132 kilovolts and below; four Gas Distribution Networks run the regional gas distribution; Independent Distribution Network Operators (IDNOs) and Independent Gas Transporters (iGTs) handle new connection areas; offshore transmission owners (OFTOs) hold the regulated assets built for offshore wind farms. All are licensed monopolies under RIIO price controls.

The three GB Transmission Owners are National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET, England and Wales), SP Transmission (SPT, southern Scotland) and SSEN Transmission (SSEN-T, northern Scotland). Each holds an Electricity Transmission Licence under the Electricity Act 1989; each operates under the RIIO-3 transmission price control covering 2026 to 2031; each builds and maintains the 400-kilovolt and 275-kilovolt network in its area under NESO direction for system planning. The 2026 to 2031 RIIO-3 settlement commits initial investment that is later released in real time as projects pass cost-benefit hurdles, alongside output-based incentives on connection times, network reliability and decarbonisation.

Six DNO groups operate the fourteen distribution licence areas. UK Power Networks (UKPN) covers London, the South East and the East of England (three areas). Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Distribution (SSEN-D) covers Southern England and northern Scotland (two areas). National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED, formerly Western Power Distribution and acquired by National Grid in 2021) covers the South West, the West Midlands, the East Midlands and South Wales (four areas). Electricity North West (ENWL) covers the North West (one area). Northern Powergrid (NPg) covers the North East and Yorkshire (two areas). SP Energy Networks (SPEN) covers Manweb and Merseyside, North Wales and southern Scotland (two areas). Each DNO publishes the Long Term Development Statement (LTDS) for its area under SLC 25.2 of the Electricity Distribution Licence; the 30 April 2024 Direction moved the LTDS from Excel files to a validated CIM data model, and the third derogation letter of 13 May 2026 reshaped Stage 2 contents while holding the publication date.1 2 21 Stage 2 publishes on 29 May 2026; Stage 3 publishes on 30 November 2026. The Connections Reform Gate 2 outcomes, issued by NESO in April 2026, progressed 283 gigawatts of generation and storage and 99 gigawatts of demand across two delivery phases (Phase 1 to 2030, Phase 2 to 2035), with offer-issuance windows running March to November 2026.32

Four Gas Distribution Networks operate the regional gas distribution layer. Cadent (the largest, four licence areas including London, the West Midlands, the East of England and the North West) was spun out of National Grid in 2017. Northern Gas Networks (NGN) covers the North East and northern Cumbria. SGN covers Scotland and southern England (two licence areas). Wales and West Utilities (WWU) covers Wales and the South West. Each holds a Gas Transporter Licence and operates under the RIIO-3 GD3 price control settlement.

Independent Distribution Network Operators (IDNOs) and Independent Gas Transporters (iGTs) hold the smaller competitive segment of the connection market. An IDNO buys a new housing estate's connection from a DNO and then owns the distribution network inside the estate under its own licence; an iGT does the same for gas. Their existence is a 2001 to 2008 reform sat under the Electricity Act 1989 and the Gas Act 1986; the market is largely held by ESP Utilities, GTC, UKPN-Services and Eclipse Power Networks.

OFTOs (Offshore Transmission Owners) hold the regulated assets that connect offshore wind farms to the GB transmission network. Each OFTO licence is awarded through competitive tender by Ofgem after the wind farm has been built and commissioned, with a twenty-year revenue stream payable through the GB transmission charge. Around twenty seven OFTO assets have been awarded since the first transition tender in 2009; recent tenders have included the Hornsea Two and Triton Knoll transmission links.

Statutory anchors: Electricity Act 1989 (Transmission and Distribution Licences), Gas Act 1986 (Gas Transporter Licence), SLC 25.2 Electricity Distribution Licence (LTDS duty). Citations used in this section: 1 2 21 32.

Suppliers, generators and the interconnector operators in May 2026

The markets family sells electricity and gas to consumers, generates the energy and links Great Britain to its European neighbours through the interconnectors. Suppliers hold electricity and gas Supply Licences under the Electricity Act 1989 and Gas Act 1986; generators hold Generation Licences (above 100 megawatts) or operate under exemption; interconnector operators hold Interconnector Licences and clear capacity through the European Single Day-Ahead Coupling.

The retail market has reconcentrated since the 2021 to 2022 wholesale shock. The top six suppliers now hold around ninety one percent of domestic accounts: Octopus Energy (the largest after acquiring Bulb in 2022 and Shell Energy Retail in 2023), British Gas (Centrica), EDF Energy Customers, E.ON Next, OVO Energy and ScottishPower. Below the top six sit around twenty smaller suppliers, with Utility Warehouse, Rebel Energy, So Energy and Good Energy among the largest. The Default Tariff Cap (set quarterly by Ofgem) is the ceiling for standard variable tariffs; Q2 2026 to 2027 was determined in May 2026.27 The 2022 Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) process handled the twenty nine retail supplier exits between September 2021 and the end of 2022 without any household losing supply, with the residual SoLR costs (estimated at over four billion pounds for 2021 to 2022) recovered through bills under the SoLR levy.

Generation is diversified across nuclear, gas, wind, solar, biomass, hydro and battery storage. The largest fleets sit with EDF Energy (the AGR and PWR nuclear fleet including Hinkley Point C under construction and Sizewell C in early works after the July 2025 Final Investment Decision), Drax (biomass and pumped hydro), RWE (gas and offshore wind), SSE (gas, hydro, offshore wind), Orsted (offshore wind), Vattenfall (offshore wind), Iberdrola (ScottishPower Renewables, onshore and offshore wind) and Equinor (gas and offshore wind). The Wylfa site contract for three Rolls-Royce small modular reactors was signed in April 2026 with final investment decision expected in 2029 and in-service mid-2030s.35 Drax Power Station, the UK's largest single power station, runs four 645-megawatt biomass units after the 2024 decision to retire the last two coal units.

The wholesale electricity market operates under the Reformed National Pricing arrangement, confirmed in the summer 2025 REMA Phase 2 decision after zonal pricing was rejected.29 The day-ahead market clears each half-hour through the European Single Day-Ahead Coupling (SDAC), with the GB Bidding Zone retaining its single price across the country. The Balancing Mechanism, operated by NESO, accepts bids and offers to reconcile demand and supply minute by minute; imbalance settlement runs through Elexon under BSC P408. The Capacity Market clears four-year-ahead and one-year-ahead auctions: the 2029 to 2030 T-4 cleared in February 2026 at twenty seven pounds ten per kilowatt year for forty point one gigawatts; the 2026 to 2027 T-1 cleared in March 2026 at five pounds per kilowatt year for seven point two gigawatts.14 Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 7 reported on 14 January 2026 with a record eight point four gigawatts of offshore wind awarded; the AR7a budget covers solar, onshore wind and emerging technologies.30

Nine interconnector operators link Great Britain to five neighbouring markets with a total capacity of 9.8 gigawatts. France: IFA1 (2 gigawatts, National Grid Interconnectors), IFA2 (1 gigawatt, National Grid plus RTE), ElecLink (1 gigawatt, Eurotunnel). Belgium: Nemo Link (1 gigawatt, National Grid plus Elia). The Netherlands: BritNed (1 gigawatt, National Grid plus TenneT). Norway: North Sea Link (1.4 gigawatts, National Grid plus Statnett). Ireland: Moyle (500 megawatts, MIE) and EWIC (500 megawatts, EirGrid). Denmark: Viking Link (1.4 gigawatts, National Grid plus Energinet, commissioned December 2023). Greenlink (Wexford to Pembrokeshire, 500 megawatts) commissioned in 2024 lifting Ireland total to 1 gigawatt. Cross-border capacity is forecast to reach around 18 gigawatts by 2030 once LionLink (1.8 gigawatts to the Netherlands) and Tarchon (1.4 gigawatts to Germany) commission. ENTSO-E publishes the day-ahead prices for the GB Bidding Zone on its Transparency Platform under the API rate limit of 400 requests per minute per token.25

The market data infrastructure runs across several open and licensed sources. NESO's Data Portal publishes generation mix, demand forecasts and operational reports under the NESO Open Licence (OGL v3.0-derived).16 Elexon's BMRS Insights Solution publishes balancing-mechanism data under the BMRS Data Licence Terms.15 The Carbon Intensity API publishes half-hourly forecast and actual carbon intensity under CC BY 4.0.

Statutory anchors: Electricity Act 1989 (Supply, Generation, Interconnector Licences), Gas Act 1986 (Gas Supply Licence), Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act 2018, Energy Act 2013 (CfD and Capacity Market). Citations used in this section: 14 15 16 25 27 29 30 35.

Consumer-facing bodies, advice and redress in May 2026

The consumer family advises households, supports vulnerable customers, and resolves disputes after a supplier has not closed an issue. Four bodies hold the load-bearing roles: Citizens Advice as statutory consumer advocate, the Extra Help Unit for vulnerable cases, the Energy Ombudsman for binding individual redress, and the Priority Services Register held by every supplier and network. The Warm Homes Plan sits beside these bodies as the policy programme that funds household energy efficiency.

Citizens Advice is the designated statutory consumer advocate for energy under the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007 (the CEAR Act). The designation gives Citizens Advice formal information-gathering rights against energy companies, a statutory voice in regulatory consultations, and the power to refer "super-complaints" to Ofgem under Section 11 of the Enterprise Act 2002. Its annual report to Parliament on the state of the energy market is the most-cited independent assessment of household experience. In practice, Citizens Advice runs the first-call advice line for energy consumers, refers vulnerable cases to the Extra Help Unit, and aggregates the complaint patterns its caseload reveals into the systemic intelligence Ofgem uses for enforcement priorities.

The Extra Help Unit, run by Citizens Advice Scotland, handles complex or urgent cases where a consumer is at risk (cut off, off-supply, in fuel poverty, on the Priority Services Register, or in a debt-recovery dispute). The Unit can act on the consumer's behalf with the supplier or network company and has a target turnaround of around twenty working days. Around twenty thousand cases pass through the EHU each year; the bulk concern billing disputes, prepayment meter issues and debt recovery.

The Energy Ombudsman is the binding-redress body for individual disputes. A consumer must first complain to their supplier (or network company); the supplier has eight weeks to resolve the issue or to issue a "deadlock letter" acknowledging the complaint cannot be resolved. After eight weeks (or on receipt of a deadlock letter), the consumer can escalate to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman's decision is binding on the supplier but not on the consumer, who retains the right to pursue legal action. The scheme is funded by energy suppliers through case fees. The Ombudsman handled around 167,000 complaints in 2023 to 2024 and around 154,000 in 2024 to 2025; the most common categories are billing accuracy, customer service and connections delays.

The Priority Services Register (PSR) is held by every supplier and every network company. A household qualifies for the PSR if a member is of pensionable age, has a disability or long-term medical condition, requires medical equipment that uses electricity, is in temporary vulnerability (recent bereavement, recently moved house, learning English), or has a child under five years old. The Register triggers obligations on the supplier (priority during planned outages, free meter reading, accessible billing) and on the network (advance notice of planned outages, priority during faults, generator support during extended outages). The Register also flows through the DCC's smart-meter messaging to ensure prepayment customers are flagged for emergency credit support.

The Warm Homes Plan, announced in the autumn 2024 budget, allocates 15 billion pounds over the Parliament for household energy-efficiency upgrades targeting around 5 million homes. The plan absorbs the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (grants for heat-pump installation), the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4 plus ECO Plus, supplier-funded retrofit for low-income households), the Great British Insulation Scheme and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. Delivery sits across DESNZ, local authorities, suppliers under ECO and Great British Energy where there is a co-investment role.

The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 reshaped the consumer-data landscape this family operates in. Core provisions came into force on 5 February 2026 under Commencement Order 6, with Section 138 in force on 6 February 2026 under Commencement Order 5.17 33 34 A new "recognised legitimate interest" lawful basis (the seventh basis under UK GDPR) and revised automated-decision-making safeguards now sit beneath every consumer-data interaction. The energy-smart Data and Privacy Framework, published by DESNZ in 2024 and updated alongside the DUA Act commencement, sets out the energy-specific obligations the Smart Data scheme imposes on suppliers and the DCC.26

Statutory anchors: CEAR Act 2007 (Citizens Advice statutory advocate role), Enterprise Act 2002 s.11 (super-complaints), Standard Licence Condition 27 (vulnerable customers), DUA Act 2025 (consumer-data lawful bases). Citations used in this section: 17 26 27 33 34.

Standards bodies and the industry associations in May 2026

The standards family supplies the technical artefacts that the licensed bodies have to implement: the data models the LTDS publishes against, the engineering recommendations the DNOs apply, the international standards the regulator points to in licence conditions, and the trade-association positions that shape consultation responses. Five organisations hold the load-bearing roles: BSI Group, the Energy Networks Association, ENTSO-E, the International Electrotechnical Commission, and Energy UK with the other trade bodies.

BSI Group is the UK national standards body. For the GB energy stakeholder map, the load-bearing artefact is the BSI CIM Engagement Hub, the official location of record for the LTDS data-exchange definition artefacts confirmed in the 13 May 2026 Ofgem derogation letter.2 4 The Hub hosts the validated CIM profiles, the SHACL validation rules and the schema versions that every DNO has to publish against. BSI also publishes the UK adoption of the IEC standards listed below: BS EN IEC 61968-13 Edition 2.0 (the distribution CIM standard) and BS EN IEC 61970-301 Edition 7.0 with Amendment 1 (the CIM base for energy-management systems).6 7 Access to the BSI Engagement Hub requires registration via https://cim.bsigroup.com/.

The Energy Networks Association (ENA) is the trade and standards body for the GB electricity and gas networks. Its statutory standing comes through the Distribution Code Review Panel secretariat role and the engineering-recommendation series (the "G" and "P" series) that every DNO and GDN applies. ENA G98 Issue 2 (10 March 2025) sets requirements for connection of micro-generators up to sixteen amps per phase.10 ENA G99 Issue 2 (10 March 2025) sets requirements for connection of generation above sixteen amps per phase up to and including transmission-connected generators (Types A to D).11 ENA G5/5 (June 2020) sets harmonic planning and compatibility levels up to the 100th order. ENA P29 (Issue 1, 1990; in revision) sets voltage-unbalance planning limits for 132 kilovolts and below. ENA also runs the Open Networks programme, the cross-DNO collaboration through which the DNOs are taking on the Distribution System Operator (DSO) function and the flexibility-procurement markets that sit underneath it.

ENTSO-E (the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity) publishes the Common Grid Model Exchange Standard (CGMES), the international standard for transmission-network model exchange that the GB LTDS now follows for distribution. CGMES 3.0 base superseded CGMES 2.4.15 with a new EQ/SSH split, dynamics profile updates and alignment with IEC 61970-600 Edition 2. The NESO Connect (Network Code) profile releases 2.4.0 (September 2025) and 2.4.1 (9 March 2026) extend the base.5 The Application Profiles Library v1.1.1 patch (7 October 2025) covers the seven CGMES profile families (Equipment, Steady State Hypothesis, Topology, State Variables, Diagram Layout, Short Circuit and Header) that the LTDS Stage 2 publication on 29 May 2026 produces.23 ENTSO-E also operates the Transparency Platform that publishes day-ahead prices, generation forecasts and cross-border flow data for the GB Bidding Zone, under a 400 requests per minute per token rate limit.25

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the international standards body for electrotechnology. The two IEC standards most load-bearing for the GB stakeholder map are IEC 61970-301 (the CIM base, Edition 7.0 with Amendment 1 from 2022, consolidated in the March 2025 EN edition) and IEC 61968-13 (the distribution CIM profile, Edition 2.0 published 2021).6 7 Both are adopted into UK standards by BSI under the BS EN IEC prefixes shown above. The IEC also publishes the IEC 60617 graphical-symbol library that GB engineering drawings use and the IEC 61850 substation-automation series that the smart-substation rollouts apply.

Energy UK is the trade association for the GB electricity and gas suppliers, generators and traders, with around 100 members covering most of the wholesale and retail market. The Renewable Energy Association (REA), RenewableUK, the Solar Energy UK association, the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA), the Heat Pump Federation and the Electric Vehicle Association are the technology-specific trade bodies. The Independent Networks Association represents IDNOs and iGTs; Major Energy Users Council represents large industrial and commercial consumers; the National Energy Action runs the fuel-poverty programme alongside Citizens Advice.

Statutory anchors: Electricity Distribution Licence SLC 25.2 (LTDS data-model artefacts), Standard Licence Condition references to ENA Engineering Recommendations, IEC standards adopted into BS EN IEC series. Citations used in this section: 2 4 5 6 7 10 11 23 25.

Institutional atlas, in three views: authority, operations, escalation

The earlier sections covered the role families one body at a time. The atlas below covers the same map three more ways: the authority view (which bodies set or approve the formal frame), the operational view (who actually runs electricity and gas day to day), and the escalation view (where customers, complaints and systemic harm go once a supplier or network company has not resolved the issue). The three lenses cut the stakeholder map at different angles, and an experienced reader of the system needs to be able to move between them without losing orientation.

Each view is a separate diagram drawn against the same six column structure. The columns are: policy and legislation; regulation and approvals; codes and settlement; system planning and operation; delivery and contracts; advice and redress. The three views differ in what they emphasise (formal authority, operational execution, complaint flow), in what they hide (each view drops the columns that are not load-bearing for its angle), and in the direction of the arrows that connect the columns.

Three atlas views of the Great Britain energy stakeholder map, May 2026

Sourced to the Energy Act 2023, the Electricity Act 1989 licence regime, the SLC 25.2 LTDS direction of 30 April 2024 and the 13 May 2026 Ofgem derogation letter. The three atlas views keep the constitutional, operational and redress pictures distinct. The tabs switch between views; each is a separate map of the same forty bodies, cut at a different angle.

Authority view of the Great Britain energy stakeholder atlas, May 2026 Six-column atlas with DESNZ and Parliament on the left setting policy, Ofgem next translating policy into regulation and approvals, Elexon and the code bodies running code administration and settlement, NESO planning and operating electricity, networks and suppliers on the right delivering against licence and code, and the advice and redress bodies on the far right handling unresolved issues. Downward arrows mark formal authority flowing from left to right; a single upward arrow on the right marks complaint and consumer-harm intelligence flowing back to regulation. POLICY AND LEGISLATION REGULATION AND APPROVALS CODES AND SETTLEMENT PLANNING AND OPERATION DELIVERY AND CONTRACTS ADVICE AND REDRESS DESNZ and Parliament missions, legislation, scrutiny, and policy direction Ofgem independent GB regulator licence conditions, code approvals, price controls, enforcement Elexon and codes administration and settlement BSC, REC, Grid Code, D-Code, CUSC, STC, UNC, MRA, SPAA, SEC NESO electricity system operator strategic planning, operability, electricity balancing and coordination Networks and suppliers licensed delivery TOs, DNOs, GDNs, National Gas, suppliers, traders, flexibility providers Advice and redress consumer route Citizens Advice, Extra Help Unit, Energy Ombudsman statutes and Strategic Priorities Statement code approvals and statutory duties rules that planning has to work with delivery requirements and access unresolved customer issues consumer-harm intelligence and complaint evidence back into regulation What the authority view clarifies Ofgem regulates and approves. NESO plans and operates electricity. Elexon and other code bodies run the rule administration. Delivery sits with licensed companies. Advice and redress sit elsewhere again, and the dashed return loop on the right is the route by which individual cases shape licence conditions.

The authority view runs left to right from legislation to regulation to operational and commercial execution. The dashed return loop is the channel through which complaint evidence reaches Ofgem, which is the only route by which individual harm shapes the licence conditions the rest of the chain runs on.

The atlas does not list every organisation that touches the GB energy system. It lists the bodies that hold formal decision rights, delivery obligations, or institutional accountability for a named part of the chain. The number of consultancies, system integrators, academic centres, charities, audit firms and advisory bodies working alongside this map is considerable; they sit outside the atlas because they hold no statutory role, although several (Frontier Economics, LCP Delta, AFRY, Cornwall Insight, the Centre for Net Zero, the Regulatory Assistance Project) shape consultation responses and analytical baselines that the bodies in the map rely on.

The three views are intended to be read together rather than separately. A bill-dispute case starts in the redress view; the licence conditions the supplier has to operate under come from the authority view; the metering data flow that has to clear before the dispute can be settled sits in the operational view. Switching between the views reads a single case as a property of the whole chain rather than a property of one body.

Primary sources for the stakeholder map

The most load-bearing sources for the stakeholder map are listed below.

  1. LTDS Direction issued pursuant to SLC 25.2 of the Electricity Distribution Licence, dated 30 April 2024. https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/decision/long-term-development-statement-direction
  2. LTDS CIM Stage 2 and 3 Extension (Derogation) Letter, dated 13 May 2026. Signatory: Steve McMahon, Director, Network Price Controls. BSI CIM Engagement Hub confirmed as official location of record for LTDS data-exchange definition artefacts. https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2026-05/LTDS-CIM-Stage-2-and-3-Extension-Derogation-Letter.pdf
  3. GC0139: Enhanced Planning-Data Exchange to Facilitate Whole System Planning; NESO and Ofgem. Status: Pending Decision (with Authority). CGMES v3 directed by Ofgem as the LTDS data standard. https://www.neso.energy/industry-information/codes/gc/modifications/gc0139-enhanced-planning-data-exchange-facilitate-whole-system-planning
  4. BSI CIM Engagement Hub; gated portal for the LTDS data-exchange definition artefacts. https://cim.bsigroup.com/
  5. CGMES 3.0 base plus profile updates; ENTSO-E Application Profiles Library v1.1.1 patch 7 October 2025; NC profile releases 2.4.0 September 2025 and 2.4.1 9 March 2026. https://www.entsoe.eu/data/cim/cim-for-grid-models-exchange/
  6. IEC 61968-13 Edition 2.0 (BS EN IEC 61968-13:2021); CDPSM profiles for distribution-network exchange. https://webstore.iec.ch
  7. IEC 61970-301 Edition 7.0 with Amendment 1:2022; the CIM base for EMS-API; consolidated EN edition March 2025. https://webstore.ansi.org/standards/din/dineniec619703012025
  8. Grid Code, Issue 6 Revision 37, published 13 April 2026; NESO under the Electricity Transmission Licence. https://www.neso.energy/industry-information/codes/grid-code-gc
  9. GB Distribution Code, Issue 59, published 24 April 2026; Distribution Code Review Panel. https://www.dcode.org.uk/
  10. ENA G98 Issue 2, 10 March 2025; connection of fully type-tested micro-generators up to 16 A per phase. https://dcode.org.uk/assets/250307ena-erec-g98-issue-2-(2025).pdf
  11. ENA G99 Issue 2, 10 March 2025; connection of generation above 16 A per phase up to and including transmission-connected generators. https://dcode.org.uk/assets/250307ena-erec-g99-issue-2-(2025).pdf
  12. Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; created 7 February 2023. Secretary of State: The Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP (as of 28 May 2026). https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-energy-security-and-net-zero
  13. NESO Electricity Ten Year Statement (ETYS 2024); January 2025; final pre-CSNP edition. https://www.neso.energy/publications/electricity-ten-year-statement-etys
  14. Final Auction Parameters T-1 and T-4 Capacity Market Auctions; DESNZ letter to NESO, February 2026. T-4 2029/30 cleared at GBP 27.10 per kW for 40.1 GW; T-1 2026/27 cleared at GBP 5.00 per kW for 7.2 GW. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capacity-market-auction-parameters-letter-from-desnz-to-neso-february-2026
  15. Elexon BMRS Insights Solution API; balancing-mechanism data under the BMRS Data Licence Terms. https://bmrs.elexon.co.uk/api-documentation
  16. NESO Data Portal; NESO Open Licence (OGL v3.0-derived). Attribution: "Supported by National Energy SO Open Data". https://www.neso.energy/data-portal
  17. Data (Use and Access) Act 2025; Royal Assent 19 June 2025; core provisions in force 5 February 2026. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/18
  18. Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement Programme; migration began 22 October 2025; cutover Milestone 16 in July 2027. https://www.elexon.co.uk/bsc/operational/market-wide-half-hourly-settlement/
  19. Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP); NESO with DESNZ; methodology May 2025; final SSEP Autumn 2027. https://www.neso.energy/what-we-do/strategic-planning/strategic-spatial-energy-planning-ssep
  20. Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP); methodology submitted to Ofgem January 2026; first CSNP delivery end-2028. https://www.neso.energy/what-we-do/strategic-planning/centralised-strategic-network-plan-csnp
  21. Standard Conditions of the Electricity Distribution Licence, SLC 25 (Long Term Development Statement); Ofgem consolidated. https://epr.ofgem.gov.uk/Content/Documents/Electricity%20Distribution%20Consolidated%20Standard%20Licence%20Conditions%20-%20Current%20Version.pdf
  22. Electricity Act 1989, s.6(1)(c); the statutory parent of the licence regime. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/29/section/6
  23. CGMES profile families (EQ, SSH, TP, SV, DL, SCR, Header); ENTSO-E Application Profiles Library v1.1.1 patch 7 October 2025. https://github.com/entsoe/application-profiles-library/releases
  24. BSC Modification P408, Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement; approved 2021; BSC arrangements for MHHS. https://www.elexon.co.uk/mod-proposal/p408-bsc-arrangements-to-support-mhhs/
  25. ENTSO-E Transparency Platform, day-ahead prices for the GB Bidding Zone; 400 requests per minute per token; proxy required. https://transparency.entsoe.eu/transmission-domain/r2/dayAheadPrices/show
  26. DESNZ Energy Smart Data and Privacy Framework; 2024 update. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-smart-data-and-privacy-framework
  27. Default Tariff Cap level (quarterly determination); Q2 2026 to 2027 determined May 2026 for the period 1 July 2026 to 30 September 2026. https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-policy-and-regulation/policy-and-regulatory-programmes/default-tariff-cap
  28. CSNP Methodology Approval Decision; Ofgem; April 2026. T-CSNP due June 2026; first full CSNP delivery end-2028. https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2026-04/CSNP-Methodology-Approval-Decision.pdf
  29. Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) Summer Update 2025; DESNZ. Zonal pricing rejected; Reformed National Pricing adopted; SSEP centrepiece. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-electricity-market-arrangements-rema-summer-update-2025
  30. CfD Allocation Round 7 results; DESNZ; 14 January 2026. Record 8.4 GW of offshore wind awarded; AR7a budget published. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-auction-delivers-unprecedented-clean-homegrown-power
  31. Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Amendment) Regulations 2026; SI 2026/7. Ofgem becomes heat-networks regulator on 27 January 2026. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/7/made
  32. NESO Connections Reform Gate 2 detailed results; April 2026. 283 GW generation and storage and 99 GW demand progressed; Phase 1 to 2030; Phase 2 to 2035. https://www.neso.energy/document/374936/download
  33. Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Commencement No. 5) Regulations 2026; SI 2026/31; Section 138 in force 6 February 2026. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/31/made
  34. Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Commencement No. 6) Regulations 2026; SI 2026/82; majority of Part 5 data-protection provisions in force 5 February 2026. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/82/contents/made
  35. Wylfa SMR site contract; DESNZ; April 2026. Three Rolls-Royce SMRs at Wylfa; final investment decision expected 2029; in-service mid-2030s; GBP 2.5 bn allocated. https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-11-13/hcws1056