UK extends first Strategic Spatial Energy Plan deadline to 2027

The UK’s first Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) now has a formal submission deadline of 31 December 2027, one year later than the prior date. Energy Minister Michael Shanks signed the direction on 20 October under condition C16.10 of the National Energy System Operator’s electricity licence; the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published the letter on 23 October. The direction applies to the first plan only.

The deadline is part of a wider timetable already revised by NESO and the government in December 2025. NESO said it would rerun SSEP modelling to incorporate refreshed generation-cost data from DESNZ, including updated cost-of-capital estimates, more recent demand expectations and connections with other policy choices. The operator said this additional analysis was intended to improve the plan’s robustness, transparency and credibility; the letter repeats those reasons for the formal licence change.

NESO’s programme distinguishes several milestones. Its December update set out pathway options for a decision by the Energy Secretary in summer 2026, consultation on a draft SSEP in early 2027 and final publication in autumn 2027. The October direction sets the legal submission deadline at the end of that year. A target to publish in autumn and a licence deadline of 31 December are related but are not the same date or administrative step.

The plan is intended to give Great Britain a long-term spatial view of electricity and hydrogen generation and storage: the types of infrastructure, potential locations, capacity and timing. NESO describes the first plan as covering the 2030–2050 period and mapping potential zones across England, Scotland and Wales. It is designed to weigh system cost and high-level network requirements alongside environmental, societal and other land- and sea-use interests.

The planning sequence begins with NESO developing pathways and analysis, followed by a government choice of a preferred pathway and public consultation on a draft. The operator’s plan is a strategic input for businesses, investors and later network planning; it does not itself grant planning consent or authorise construction of a specific power plant, hydrogen facility or transmission line. The minister’s letter changes the time NESO has to submit the first plan, not the plan’s contents or a project approval.

The three UK governments jointly commissioned NESO to prepare the first GB-wide SSEP in 2024. Its final methodology was published in 2025 after approval by the UK Energy Secretary and Ofgem, and the subsequent modelling and consultation work followed that framework. This background matters because the plan covers a complex, multi-stage process rather than a single investment decision, with assumptions and spatial choices needing review before the preferred pathway is settled.

The letter also limits the scope of the new deadline. It says later SSEP cycles remain subject to the existing licence framework, which provides for plans every third year unless the Secretary of State directs otherwise. Ofgem intends to consult during 2027 on licence amendments covering the timing of later SSEP cycles and related strategic energy-planning processes. Those future changes are not decided by the October direction.

The near-term public milestone is therefore expected to be the draft-plan consultation in early 2027, while NESO’s stated aim is to publish the completed first plan in autumn that year and the formal licence date is 31 December. The department’s direction does not quantify the cost of the delay or forecast a change in supply targets. Its stated rationale is to let the modelling reflect updated cost, demand and policy information before the first national spatial plan is submitted.