NESO (National Energy System Operator) has launched a new consultation inviting customers and stakeholders across Great Britain to help shape the methodology (the approach) that will help to deliver a set of Regional Energy Strategic Plans (RESPs). The plans will support and enable the energy transition across our nations and regions.
Running from 17 November 2025 to 16 January 2026, the methodology consultation seeks responses from customers and stakeholders in Scotland and Wales and in nine English regions, on how the future RESPs should be designed, developed and integrated into Great Britain’s (GB) overarching strategic energy planning framework. The RESPs will work with the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan and Centralised Strategic Network Plan to ensure a secure, affordable, sustainable energy future that places customer value at the centre.
Planning for Great Britain’s energy future
Regional energy strategic planning is a fundamental step in NESO’s ambitions to deliver a whole-system approach to strategic energy planning in GB.
The regional energy strategic planning role has been established to develop plans for the nations and regions, focused on the electricity and gas distribution networks. These networks are currently planned separately. By moving to a joined-up whole-system approach, progress towards net zero can be accelerated.
NESO’s strategic energy plans will promote economic growth and identify investments that are needed for the energy transition in GB. Regional energy strategic planning is part of NESO’s wider strategic energy planning activity and focuses on local considerations within our nations and regions. The 11 RESPs will complement other GB-wide NESO strategic plans, such as the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) and the Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP) and the Future Energy Scenarios (FES) pathways.
For the first time ever in GB, through regional energy strategic planning, we will be engaging with local customers and stakeholders to understand the key priorities and needs within the nations and regions. We will use local data to set out the approach to how our future energy systems will be planned.
NESO’s strategic energy plans will all inform the business plans developed by gas and electricity distribution networks, ensuring network consistency and reflecting local priorities.
Julian Leslie, Director of Strategic Energy Planning and Chief Engineer at NESO, commented:
'To achieve the ambitions of every part of Great Britain and make the right choices to meet our future energy needs we need regional energy strategic plans that can reflect local priorities across every nation and region.
Establishing a robust methodology for this first set of eleven plans is critical to ensuring that we keep local voices central to how we strategically plan the future energy system. The Regional Energy Strategic Plans will play a key role in helping to establish a secure, affordable and clean energy system, one that underpins economic growth and sustainability in communities across Great Britain.'
Next steps after the consultation
Once the methodology consultation closes on 16 January 2026, customer and stakeholder feedback will be analysed and NESO will produce the final methodology. Once approved by Ofgem and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the final methodology is expected to be published in Summer 2026. NESO will then begin work with local customers and stakeholders to deliver the first set of 11 RESPs for Scotland, Wales and nine English regions.
Methodology consultation launch webinar – 17 November
Methodology Consultation deep dive webinars
Between 25 November and 3 December we will be running a programme of methodology topic-specific webinars which will dive deeper into specific areas of the methodology.
Register for the webinars:
- Webinar: Nations and Regions Context – 25 November, 9:30am – 11:00am [Register here]
- Webinar: Pathways, Consistent Planning Assumptions and Spatial Context – 25 November, 1:30pm – 3:00pm [Register here]
- Webinar: Support for Local Participants – 27 November, 10:00am – 11:30am [Register here]
- Webinar: Governance – 27 November, 1:30pm – 3:00pm [Register here]
- Webinar: Strategic Investment Needs – 3 December, 10:00am – 11:30am [Register here]
- Webinar: Network Planning Assurance and Technical Coordination – 3 December, 1:30pm – 3:00pm [Register here]
Source: NESO
