Welcome to the Electricity Market Reform (EMR) area of the National Grid website.

On 15th December 2011 the Government published the technical update to its White Paper on Electricity Market Reform. EMR will facilitate the delivery of three objectives across the energy sector. It will ensure security of supply through the provision of a diverse range of energy sources, including renewable, nuclear, CCS equipped plant, unabated gas and demand side. It will ensure sufficient investment in sustainable low carbon technologies to put the UK on a path to achieve its 2020 renewables targets as well as its longer term targets to reduce carbon emissions by at least 80% by 2050. Whilst delivering the investment needed to achieve the targets, the EMR policies maximise benefit and minimise costs to the consumer. Overall EMR will enable large-scale investment in low-carbon generation capacity in the UK and deliver security of supply, in a cost-effective way.

The technical update to the EMR White Paper set out the Government’s decision that the System Operator part of National Grid best meets the criteria for the delivery body of the Feed-in Tariff with contracts for difference (FiT CfD) and the capacity mechanism.

As part of our potential role as delivery body, National Grid is launching this call for evidence to support the development of strike prices under Electricity Market Reform.

In the May 2012 Draft Energy Bill supporting documents, DECC highlighted that for the first delivery plan, i.e. the period from 2014, the RO Banding Review (ROBR) data would be used to administer the setting of strike prices with adjustments made where necessary to reflect the different nature of the CfD scheme. Therefore, much of the same data from the most recent ROBR, obtained in the fourth quarter of 2011, will be used where appropriate.

The call for evidence is specifically to ensure that National Grid takes into consideration the most recent and relevant technology costs, and economic assumptions for the setting of strike prices for CfDs.

National Grid therefore invites responses from all stakeholders to ensure the first phase of strike price setting under CfD, from 2014, is supported by robust economic assumptions and for specific year’s, new data evidence.

All stakeholders are encouraged to use this call for evidence as an opportunity to influence the CfD scheme by providing comments and evidence where necessary for consideration.　

James Greenhalgh

National Grid EMR Team
National Grid House
Warwick Technology Park
Gallows Hill
Warwick CV34 6DA
Tel: +44 (0) 1926 655554