Help shape your Regional Energy Strategic Plan – express an interest by 9 October

Leaders and experts from across Scotland, Wales, and England’s regions are invited to take a formal role in shaping the energy infrastructure their places need.

Regional Energy Strategic Plans (RESPs) will connect local priorities with national energy planning, helping ensure future infrastructure supports economic growth, housing, decarbonisation, and energy security. We will develop plans for Scotland, Wales and nine English regions, collaborating with people and organisations in each place to build a shared view of future energy needs.

For the first time, leaders and experts in the nations and regions will have a formal role in shaping and approving these plans, through RESP Strategic Boards and Working Groups. Expressions of interest are open now and close on 9 October.

Why take part

Taking part is a direct opportunity to bring your place’s ambitions, evidence, and delivery experience into long-term energy planning. Your contribution will help identify where infrastructure is needed, surface risks and opportunities early, and support better-coordinated planning and investment across the energy system.

Our teams of energy experts, based in the nations and regions, will collaborate with participants to bring local priorities and technical evidence into a joined-up, whole-system view.

This is an opportunity to shape Great Britain’s first coordinated, place-based approach to planning electricity, gas and heat together. By joining, you can help ensure energy infrastructure is developed in the right place, at the right time, and in a way that reflects the needs and priorities of local communities.

Two routes to contribute

Our draft RESP methodology sets out two routes to contribute to RESP governance in your nation or region:

• Strategic Boards will provide strategic direction, consider key choices and trade-offs, and approve the regional energy strategic plan. Each Strategic Board will have up to sixteen members including local government, energy networks, representatives from Scottish and Welsh Governments and up to four cross-sector actors.
• Working Groups will bring local plans, evidence, practical experience and specialist insight into the development of the RESP and provide advice to the Strategic Board.

Cross-sector actors will have substantial experience in one or more priority areas: whole-system energy transition, heat networks, commercial energy use, industry, maritime, transport, and fuel poverty and consumer interests.

Download our Governance Simple Guide to understand what we anticipate each group will do, who we are looking for and what taking part will involve.

How to express an interest

We're inviting expressions of interest from people who can bring local knowledge, strategic leadership, delivery experience and wider whole-energy-system perspectives to this work.

Strategic Board (cross-sector actors): If you are a strategic leader in your nation or region, send your CV and a covering letter to [email protected] by 23.59pm on 9 October 2026. 

Please include the nation or region of the Strategic Board you are interested in within the email subject line.

In your application, explain how you would bring a broader whole-energy-system perspective to the role, drawing on your experience in one or more of the identified priority areas.

Working Groups: Email [email protected] requesting the form and submit your expression of interest by 23.59pm on 9 October.

Local authorities and energy distribution networks

We will contact local authorities and distribution networks individually with details of how to participate in RESP governance.

How else can I be involved?

Strategic Boards and Working Groups are not the only ways to take part. We will also use a range of engagement channels to enable local and GB-wide stakeholders to help develop the plans. We will publish further details of these channels once the RESP Methodology has been approved, later in 2026.

Questions or support

If you have any questions about RESP governance or how to express an interest, please contact the RESP Team at [email protected]