National Grid is backing European Commission plans to separate the EU’s electricity and gas transmission networks from the companies which produce energy and sell it to customers.

Nick Winser, National Grid’s Director of Transmission, has written to European Commissioners in support of the “unbundling” proposals due to be announced on Wednesday 19 September, saying they would benefit consumers, help tackle climate change and boost network investment.

The Commission’s proposals are expected to recommend that transmission systems should be owned by companies that don’t have generation, production or supply businesses – similar to the role that National Grid has already in England and Wales.

A possible alternative is the creation of Independent System Operators (ISOs), where companies keep ownership of the transmission networks but they are operated by separate companies – similar to the ISO role that National Grid has already in Scotland.

“We want the EC to hold its nerve and go for complete unbundling, with independent ownership of transmission networks,” said Nick Winser.

“This would allow open access to the transmission networks, increasing competition and benefiting customers across Europe.

“Open access would also allow more renewable and lower-carbon electricity generation to connect to the system, helping to reduce carbon emissions. Investment in networks would also go up because independent system owners have a clear incentive to make the networks as reliable and efficient as possible.

“The UK is increasingly interconnected to Europe so we need the European market to work well for the UK market to work well, and to help ensure future security of supply.”

Since 1990, over £5.5 billion has been invested in the “unbundled” electricity transmission network in England and Wales – around double the investment seen before privatisation. And network reliability has averaged 99.9998% – around five times higher than continental Europe.

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National Grid is one of the world's largest utilities, focused on delivering energy safely, reliably, efficiently and responsibly. Our principal interests are in the transmission and distribution of electricity and gas in the UK and US. 

We own the high-voltage electricity system in England and Wales and operate the system across Great Britain. We also own and operate the high pressure gas transmission system in Britain, and the country’s largest gas distribution network serving 11 million customers. In the Northeastern US we have electricity transmission systems and distribution networks in the northeastern region, and gas customers in upstate New York and Rhode Island.

We also have interests in related markets, including metering services, liquefied natural gas facilities and property in the UK, as well as electricity interconnectors in the UK and US.

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