The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 represents a turning point in governance, providing essential support for reform of the planning system. Here RLB’s Head of Utilities and Energy, Rees Westley talks to RICS Construction Journal about the importance of this reform and the long-term impact on the energy sector.
For far too long, projects have been delayed within planning backlogs, often impacting viability and slowing the delivery of nationally important infrastructure and housing schemes. Designed to help accelerate development through a more streamlined and efficient planning process, the Act is seen as a key enabler in supporting the UK Government’s ambition to deliver 1.5 million new homes and critical infrastructure upgrades.
Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) welcomes these reforms as well as the ongoing electricity connections reforms being implemented through NESO, Ofgem and the wider transmission framework. In particular, Connections Reform Part 1 seeks to address Transmission Entry Capacity (TEC) constraints and the speculative ‘queue blocking’ currently affecting the grid connection process, while Part 2 is intended to address demand-side queue reform and prioritise projects that demonstrate genuine deliverability.
Importantly, these reforms are intrinsically linked. The connections reform process increasingly requires developers to demonstrate planning progression and project readiness as part of the transition from Gate 1 to Gate 2, meaning the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 acts as a key facilitating mechanism in enabling viable projects to progress through the reformed connections regime and reach market more quickly.
Grid connection reform long overdue
The grid connection queue, which was approximately 750GW, had been distorted by speculative ‘zombie’ projects, which held capacity but had no realistic route to construction.
This creates artificial scarcity, distorts land and power valuations and deters investment in viable projects.
The Transmission Entry Capacity (TEC) amnesty allowed projects holding TEC that were unlikely to progress to voluntarily exit the connections queue without incurring the usual termination liabilities. This process was intended to reduce the number of speculative or inactive projects occupying capacity, thereby helping to reduce the queue and allow viable projects to progress through the connections process.
Revision to the existing ‘first ready, first connected’ approach will hopefully give the industry the boost it needs and allow stakeholders to progress projects that are ready, rather than incentivising early speculative applications. However, there is still a need to ensure that these reforms are implemented transparently and consistently by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) and distribution network operators, and readiness tests need to be consistent.
What are Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects?
The new Act also created National Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) provisions as part of critical national infrastructure (CNI) within the UK Government Resilience Framework. Through a policy-led Development Consent Order (DCO) process, NSIPs enable government to prioritise and accelerate strategically important projects, ensuring power infrastructure is delivered as a coordinated economic enabler alongside NESO’s reformed, priority-based connections regime.
In addition, data centres and digital facilities are now protected as CNI sites, and with good reason. Recent research by RLB found that operators expect to commission 42% more capacity in 2026 than 2025 – a staggering 318% increase since 2023. Change was therefore needed to ensure this momentum is not strangled.
Further action is needed
Clearer national policy direction would help improve investor confidence and bring greater certainty for larger projects such as hyperscale and strategic industrial developments, which need extensive investment and involve huge risks.
NSIP reforms need to streamline project review timelines and not just shift the consenting route. Moreover, resourcing of NSIP governance capacity must match the increased demand, to ensure further bottlenecks do not occur.
The greatest challenge for most sits in strategic transmission reinforcement and grid capacity availability. Grid buildout, reinforcement of power and long lead times for transformers, switchgear and high-voltage cable remain significant delivery risks. Centralised master-planning is essential to better align utilities, transport and social infrastructure. Before projects enter the planning ecosystem, developers and consultants need to understand their energy demands and accurately assess whether or not they are truly ready for consent planning.
Ensuring that the freed-up capacity is used for those really viable projects that have investment and deliverable design maturity means the country can move forward rather than stand still on meeting its ambitious targets.
This is an abridged article that first appeared in RICS Construction Journal.
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