The Energy Transition | UK government plans to create Energy Wealth Fund
Published on 28 October 2026
Welcome to our top picks of the latest energy regulatory and market developments in the UK's transition to net zero
This week’s edition reports on the new Energy Wealth Fund, Ofgem's confirmation of funding for an East Anglian grid upgrade, and a deadline extension for the National Energy System Operator's first Strategic Spatial Energy Plan.
UK government plans to create Energy Wealth Fund
The UK government has announced plans to establish a new Energy Wealth Fund, through which it will channel tax revenues from North Sea oil and gas operations into renewable and low-carbon energy projects. The fund is to be set up within the existing National Wealth Fund.
The fund was announced in conjunction with the energy secretary's decision to allow the regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority, to approve production at the Jackdaw gas field. The fund will start with a £2 billion investment from the Treasury, with future funds coming from the North Sea, including those generated by Jackdaw.
The government has not yet specified the proportion of North Sea tax revenues that will flow into the fund, or the selection criteria for qualifying projects.
John Healey, the chancellor of the exchequer, said: "Through our new Energy Wealth Fund, we will invest in the clean energy industries of the future, creating jobs, driving growth and strengthening Britain’s energy security."
Ofgem confirms £642mn for East Anglian transmission upgrade
Ofgem, has confirmed £642.1 million in funding for National Grid Electricity Transmission's (NGET) Bramford to Twinstead transmission upgrade project in East Anglia. The project forms part of NGET's Great Grid Upgrade programme, and is designed to accommodate the new renewable and low-carbon energy expected to connect to the network in East Anglia by 2030. It also aims to reduce constraint costs, in particular those borne by wind generators that would otherwise be unable to export the electricity they generate.
Works will take place between Bramford substation in Suffolk and Twinstead Tee in Essex. They include the installation of 18km of new overhead line and 11km of underground cable, the construction of a new substation at Twinstead Green, and an upgrade of the existing Bramford substation.
The project has been fast-tracked under Ofgem's Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment framework, which is designed to speed up the delivery of 26 strategically important electricity transmission projects.
Ofgem has also separately published a list of excepted works in relation to its requirement under the Connection and Use of System Code modification proposal, known as CMP447. The modification provides that certain strategic transmission works may be excepted works, which are not dependent on the connection or payment of securities by a specific generator.
The delivery and payment of excepted works are instead approved as part of Ofgem's price control mechanism. The Bramford to Twinstead project falls within this category, with cost and benefits said to have been accounted for in the RIIO-3 (revenue equals incentives plus innovation plus outputs) investment package.
NESO given extra year to deliver first Strategic Spatial Energy Plan
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has been directed to submit its first Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP), as required under condition C16.10 of the Electricity System Operator licence, by a revised deadline of 31 December 2027, extended from the original deadline of 31 December this year.
The extension for NESO had been anticipated, following the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's announcement in December 2025 that the SSEP timeline would require revision.
The UK minister for energy, Michael Shanks, stated that the principal reason for the revised deadline is updated generation cost estimates, driven by the cost of capital, changes in demand expectations and wider policy interdependencies.
The energy minister noted that the extended timeframe is intended to strengthen the SSEP's "robustness, transparency, and credibility"; reasoning consistent with that set out by the department's strategy director Johanna Cowan in December 2025.
The direction applies solely to the deadline for submission of the first SSEP. Ofgem has indicated that it will consult separately on the timing of subsequent SSEP cycles later in 2027.
John McVea and Rani Mandalia, trainee solicitors at Osborne Clarke, assisted in writing this Insight.
