Morning, Monday, 20th April 2026
Online
This conference will examine next steps for electricity market reform in the UK, assessing ways forward for delivering an efficient, cost-effective, and clean electricity system to meet Clean Power 2030 ambitions. It is timed to follow the expected publication of the Reformed National Pricing Delivery Plan and will take place as government and Ofgem conduct associated consultations on its delivery.
It will bring stakeholders and policymakers together to consider progress and priorities moving forward for implementing reformed pricing, including alignment with Ofgem’s proposals for network charging and the Balancing Mechanism, coordination with NESO’s strategic spatial energy planning, and advancing Capacity Market reform.
Regulatory developments and implications for investment and cost
Sessions will consider the direction of policy, including priorities for the Capacity Market and balancing reform, implications for Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 7 and alignment with AR8, as well as ongoing work under NESO’s Constraints Collaboration Project to address network congestion and reduce related costs.
There will be discussion on how energy cost measures introduced in the 2025 Autumn Budget - including the shift to the Renewable Obligations Levy into general taxation, and introduction of the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme - may affect funding for grid management and clean energy infrastructure delivery. Delegates will consider the implications of switching the RO and Feed-in Tariff schemes to CPI-based indexation for investor confidence, regulatory stability, cost of capital, and achieving Clean Power 2030.
Further sessions will assess priorities for investment frameworks in order to support infrastructure delivery, amid concerns that rising transmission charges will act as a barrier to investment in low-carbon infrastructure. Delegates will assess Ofgem’s final determinations for RIIO-3, which include an initial investment of £10.3bn for electricity networks, as well as NESO’s forecast of TNUoS tariffs, addressing concerns regarding impacts on consumer affordability and public trust. Ways to immediately address rising TNUoS charges until wider market reforms are implemented will be considered, assessing implications for renewable energy generation and project development.
Planning and infrastructure
Delegates will examine how market reform will be aligned with strategic spatial plans, including the SSEP, Centralised Strategic Network Plan and Regional Energy Strategic Plan, and ongoing grid connection reforms. Sessions will also assess the role of locational signals in supporting infrastructure planning and efficient network operation.
Areas for discussion include integration of local energy plans with national and regional networks, coordination of generation with demand and storage, approaches to strengthening public engagement, and implications for siting decisions and delivery timelines. Discussion will consider how market reforms and energy planning can be aligned to support goals for a low carbon, flexible energy system, including priorities for upgrading electricity networks to facilitate connections to the grid and to address transmission constraints.
The agenda will look at differences in network costs across regions, addressing concerns of volatile transmission charges, and options for updating price signals to better reflect regional needs and improve network efficiency. Delegates will address concerns over the potential for network efficiency measures - such as those in the Constraints Collaboration Project - to transfer costs, if incentives, charges and spatial plans are not aligned, and will consider strategies to mitigate this displacement.
Collaboration, flexibility and long-term efficiency
Looking at Capacity Market reform, discussion will focus on how new measures - such as termination fees for demand-side response - might affect participation and investment signals.
Attendees will consider opportunities for energy flexibility providers in the Capacity Market as set out in NESO’s Enabling Demand-Side Flexibility Programme, including balancing and settlement reforms aiming to enable participation of small-scale consumer-led assets and independent aggregators. Sessions will consider further opportunities to support the deployment of flexible technologies, including demand-side flexibility and grid-scale solutions, with consideration for addressing path dependencies and aligning planning between market reforms, the Clean Flexibility Roadmap, and Clean Power 2030.
Further sessions consider potential implementation of digital grid management tools, data-sharing systems, and frameworks for closer coordination between local authorities and regulators to improve efficiency and flexibility, and support longer-term system development.
