One week to go! Your chance to shape the future of local energy networks

In November 2025, NESO launched a new consultation inviting customers and stakeholders across Great Britain (GB) to help shape the methodology (the approach) for producing the first ever set of Regional Energy Strategic Plans (RESPs). The plans will be produced for Scotland, Wales and nine English regions, helping to ensure that local areas get the energy infrastructure they need for economic growth and net zero.

The RESP Methodology Consultation launched on 17 November 2025 and the deadline for your response is 16 January 2026. 

What is the RESP Methodology Consultation?  

RESPs are a fundamental step in NESO’s ambitions to deliver a whole-system approach to strategic energy planning in GB.  

The methodology consultation seeks responses from customers and stakeholders on how the first set of RESPs should be developed and integrated into GB’s overarching strategic energy planning (SEP) framework.  

The RESPs will work with the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) and Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP) to ensure a secure, affordable, sustainable energy future. Ensuring the future energy system delivers value to customers will be central to all these plans. 

Have your say and respond to the consultation by the 16 January deadline.

You can find out more about the RESP methodology on our dedicated website pages and view related webinars; you can also read more on our news pages.  

Consultation questions

Your views are key to ensuring that we establish the right approach to developing the RESPs. Alongside our consultation document we have set up an online consultation platform, to help make the response process as easy as possible.

Two of the consultation questions were not included in the consultation platform at the outset. This was due to a technical issue, which has now been addressed. Please visit the consultation web page for the updated version and instructions on how to submit your response. 

Next steps after the consultation  

Once the methodology consultation closes on 16 January 2026, customer and stakeholder feedback will be analysed and used by NESO to help 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 by end of 2028.  

Further information

Please visit the RESP methodology consultation pages to access the consultation document and the consultation platform. If you have any questions, please contact the RESP team: [email protected].