Morning, Monday, 17th November 2025
Online
This conference will examine strategic priorities for advancing energy flexibility and strengthening grid resilience as the UK transitions towards Clean Power 2030 and wider net zero targets.
It will bring stakeholders and policymakers together to discuss recent policy developments, including the Government’s Clean Flexibility Roadmap, the National Energy System Operator’s Future Energy Scenarios, and Ofgem’s ongoing flexibility market reforms. Delegates will assess implications for network development priorities, transmission capacity planning, and the integration of renewable generation with storage technologies.
Markets, planning, infrastructure & finance
Discussion will focus on addressing current barriers to market participation, improving alignment between flexibility services and clean energy availability, and establishing effective frameworks for long-duration energy storage deployment.
Areas for consideration include challenges in infrastructure readiness, alongside the role of local authorities in planning processes, requirements for transmission network upgrades, and priorities for digitalisation and improved interconnection to enable increasingly complex energy flows.
Sessions will look at opportunities for integrating hydrogen, biogas, and other low-carbon dispatchable generation into existing systems, alongside discussion on funding frameworks for public and private investment to support market growth and maintain investor confidence.
Consumer engagement, industrial base, workforce & governance
Further discussion will assess approaches for effective engagement with energy users on smart tariffs, behind-the-meter systems, and energy-efficient technologies, with particular attention to maintaining equitable access across different income levels.
Putting in place enablers for meeting projected growth in flexibility-related sectors will also be discussed, including workforce development and building domestic manufacturing capacity, alongside governance arrangements needed to coordinate delivery across government departments and regulators while maintaining momentum towards clean energy objectives.
Overview of areas for discussion
- policy and regulation:
- implications of government strategies and regulatory changes - effects on network capacity and supply security - alignment of network plans with clean energy targets
- role of the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan and Central Strategic Network Plan - updates to National Policy Statements for energy infrastructure
- access to flexibility markets:
- widening participation for new entrants - addressing underuse of storage capacity - achieving electricity use more closely linked with renewable supply
- reducing barriers to entry - addressing skip rates in flexibility services - alignment with renewable generation availability - updates to the Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin scheme
- grid capacity and resilience:
- strengthening transmission routes - developing cross-border links - role of local authorities in planning approvals - streamlining planning processes to reduce delays for flexibility projects
- clean generation and storage:
- prospects for hydrogen, biogas, and other low-emission options - connecting new capacity - aligning public and private finance
- insights from the first long-duration electricity storage cap-and-floor funding round & preparations for the second window - role of blended finance in scaling deployment
- innovation and sustainability:
- government support for battery innovation and recycling - emerging international standards - supply chain resilience and circular economy priorities in flexibility sectors to 2030
- industrial base and workforce:
- growth potential in flexibility-related industries to 2030 - alignment with the National Energy System Operator’s first annual non-domestic flexibility capacity targets
- scaling domestic manufacturing - building skills to meet sector demand
- engaging energy users:
- adoption of time-of-use tariffs - on-site generation and storage - participation across income levels
- reducing consumer bills through energy efficiency - energy provider responsibilities for households and businesses
- data use and market processes:
- visibility of usage information - customer participation - simpler entry requirements for smaller providers - improving data access to support market signals
- oversight and delivery:
- coordinated action across departments and regulators - role of environmental and consumer groups in setting priorities
- priorities for departmental focus on coordinating cross-departmental delivery and maintaining Clean Power 2030 momentum
