National Infrastructure Commission

As of today, the Commission is no longer operating. We are now - along with what was the Infrastructure and Projects Authority - part of the new unit within HM Treasury, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA). Commissioners have been appointed as members of a new advisory council to NISTA. No more posts will be made to this LinkedIn page. If you currently follow this page, you're encouraged to visit the NISTA LinkedIn page and follow its work there. Future news about NISTA's work will also be available on its page on the gov.uk website. Thank you for your interest in the Commission's work.

Our Chair Sir John Armitt earlier this month spoke to construction project management students at the University of Portsmouth London campus - some of whom may well become future leaders delivering and managing transformative infrastructure across the UK - about the Commission's work, the long term challenges in infrastructure #construction, and the importance of effective project leadership (something referenced in our recent cost drivers report). You can read a little more about his discussion with students here: https://lnkd.in/ez5rMNGm

Our Director of Policy Margaret Read spoke to Utility Week earlier about #energy #resilience challenges for infrastructure, in light of the #Heathrow incident last week.

The Secretary of State for transport has approved the #LowerThamesCrossing which will connect Kent and Essex via what will be the UK's longest road tunnel and hopefully limit the frequent delays and frustrations for motorists and hauliers at the Dartford Tunnel pinchpoint - something which Commissioners saw for themselves in a visit to the project site and the operation room at the Dartford Tunnel three years ago. Improving connectivity through investing in the UK's strategic road and rail networks was one of the key recommendations in our second National Infrastructure Assessment. Read our immediate response here: https://lnkd.in/eGH4rrkh

Heathrow Airport has been fully shut down by a fire in the neighbouring electrical substation which supplies the airport. While full details are still to emerge, this apparent failure due to a single point of risk highlights the importance of infrastructure operators #stresstesting how their systems respond against a range of short and long-term risks and shocks. Plus, the importance of national resilience standards to provide clarity to operators and regulators about where investment may be required to meet those standards. This incident highlights a wider discussion point about the level of resilience that is required (and consequently what those standards should be) and what levels of consumers and taxpayers are prepared to pay for. We've put out a brief response on today's incident, which you can find on our website: https://lnkd.in/ey64ev6S

Our Chair Sir John Armitt welcomes publication of the government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which has been introduced to Parliament, saying it "covers all the bases". The Bill sets out a range of measures designed to deliver the government’s programme of housebuilding and infrastructure reforms through reforming the operation of the planning system, many of which reflect recommendations made in the Commission’s second National Infrastructure Assessment. Among the measures included in the Bill are: - Bill discounts for residents and funding of local projects for communities hosting new energy generation and transmission infrastructure - Introduction of strategic spatial development strategies across England to better join up development and infrastructure needs - A ‘first ready, first connected’ approach giving priority connections to the power grid for clean energy projects - National delegation of planning committees to streamline housing planning decisions - A Nature Restoration Fund to support larger environmental interventions that secure environmental improvements - More streamlined consultations for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, including an overhaul of the system for challenging consenting decisions. See Sir John's full comments below:

Our Commissioner Nick Winser CBE FREng - lead Commissioner on our report last month on electricity distribution networks, and also the government's Electricity Networks Commissioner - has just finished giving evidence to the House of Lords Industry and Regulators committee enquiry on 'The energy grid and grid connections', answering members' enquiries on progress on ensuring the country's low voltage and high voltage grids are fit for the UK's electrified future. Across the session Nick shared the Commission's latest thinking on topics ranging from connections, speeding up planning, spatial energy planning and strategic investment, and the extent to which these and other issues were propelling, or holding back, progress on the decarbonisation and expansion of the electricity network. On the question of the queue for connection, he told peers that there was "no time to lose" in implementing the existing planned reforms to the connections process in a deliberate and speedy way to help speed the country through the transition to the Clean Power 2030 target. Nick noted on planning issues that since his original 2023 transmission grid report things were a lot further forward, but there was still a lot of work to do, given there are an increasing number of projects needing to go through the DCO processs. For distribution networks the challenges are not as urgent, he noted, advising that our recent report has for example proposed simple changes around what should be covered under 'permitted developments' which should help speed up the expediting of local grid expansion. On strategic planning of the networks, Nick noted there is already a greater transparency of the overall future picture than there was when he published his networks report. While it wasn't as easy to plan strategically for the distribution networks, he said it was important there was a "flight path of expenditure" that can set a trajectory for future investments and be flexed, as more information about that demand becomes available. You can watch the session again here: https://lnkd.in/eU4As_CY

The Climate Change Committee's advice to government for the Seventh Carbon Budget - published this morning - highlights the significant contribution that the electrification of #heating & #driving (EVs) will make to lowering UK emissions up to 2040. Positively, their advice aligns well with the conclusions that we drew in our second National Infrastructure Assessment.

Last Friday we published our new report 'Electricity distribution networks: Creating capacity for the future. We launched it to an online audience of guest from across the #energy and wider #infrastructure sectors, and you can watch it via the link below. In the recording our Chair Sir John, Commissioners Andy Green CBE and Nick Winser CBE FREng, Director of Policy Margaret Read and CEO James Heath summarise the key findings set out in the report before engaging in an extended Q&A session with guests. https://lnkd.in/ewZrCDHE

Acting early on investment in our #distribution networks will also have the benefit of improving the resilience of the system and lead to earlier realisation of the benefits of electrification and provide opportunities to manage the overall cost of the transition to a fully electric UK. To do that, the report makes recommendations in a number of areas: * Better definition of system needs through greater strategic planning and government providing Ofgem with more strategic guidance about its role in managing this shift * Changes to how the network is regulated, including simplified price controls rebalanced around a broader range of long term objectives * Stronger incentives and minimum standards to improve customer service in the connections process * Progress on flexibility and digitisation, and reviewing security of supply standards * Speeding up delivery of network infrastructure through adjustments to the planning system and action on supply chains and skills. You can find the full report on our website: https://lnkd.in/eHD3mGhw