Empowering Communities, Enabling Growth
Local electricity networks play a fundamental role in our day to day lives – keeping the lights on in our homes and powering businesses the length and breadth of the UK.
At SSEN, we operate the electricity distribution networks in the north of Scotland and in central southern England. Keeping customers and communities connected is essential – and we know we’ll need to do even more in the years ahead.
That’s because we live in an increasingly electrified world. And that means we need to ensure our electricity networks are capable of meeting much higher levels of demand – creating greater resilience, supporting decarbonisation and unlocking economic growth.
Achieving that requires a step-change in how we invest in our distribution networks.
Why ED3 matters
ED3 is the next five-year regulatory period for electricity distribution networks. It will run from April 2028 to March 2033 and is set by our regulator, Ofgem. It sets what we can invest, what customers receive, and how our performance is measured.
What we’re doing
We’re beginning to create our ED3 business plan — the roadmap for how we’ll invest in and develop the electricity network between 2028 and 2033. This matters for the communities we serve because it will shape how we build resilience, support the energy transition and deliver smarter networks in your area.
Starting the conversation
We don’t create our business plan alone. It’ll be shaped by thousands of stakeholders, like you. That’s why we’re starting a dialogue on the future of local electricity networks, ensuring your views are reflected in our plans.
Being held to account
As a regulated monopoly, we have wide ranging obligations: to our customers, to the environment, to the communities we work in. Being accountable for the commitments we make is at the core of our ED3 approach. Our Independent Stakeholder Group is already helping to shape our ED3 plans. Over the coming months it will keep reviewing the strength and quality of our engagement, and hold us to account.
Our long-term vision
We have a clear long-term vision for how distribution networks can deliver decarbonisation, unlock economic growth and drive wider consumer value. In fact, we’re the first Distribution Network Operator to set out our thinking for ED3. This establishes three clear priorities for ED3:
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Drive economic growth and create benefits for the communities and environments we serve.
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Develop agile, digitally enabled electricity networks that meet diverse customer and energy-system needs.
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Make sure our business and networks are resilient in the face of growing challenges, so we can deliver our plans efficiently.
Emerging Thinking
We are at the beginning of an exciting journey — building the electricity networks our communities will need to thrive in a net zero world.
"The importance of distribution networks has never been clearer and, as we approach the critical ED3 period, we are also clear about our role; to develop our network and services to empower communities and enable growth. By doing this, we’ll help families and communities realise the societal and economic benefits we know decarbonisation will bring."
"We want to start an open and honest conversation with our customers and stakeholders about what they want to see us prioritise and develop in ED3, helping us build a truly customer- and stakeholder-led business plan."
Managing Director of SSEN Distribution