Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Director General Nick Baveystock welcomed the publication today of the draft Energy Bill commenting:
“The Bill marks an important step towards meeting the UK’s three-fold energy challenge of sustainability, security and affordability. Engineers know that delivering any major ‘first of a kind’ project is extremely challenging and requires a high degree of flexibility; in contrast the proposed market reform mechanisms depend on complex interactions of regulation and processes, leaving little margin for error. But we must be bold and work together to cut through these challenges to deliver the energy security UK needs.
"Success will be determined by the practical application of what Government is trying to achieve. ICE will be scrutinising the Bill over the coming weeks to assess its fitness-for-purpose from a practitioners perspective. The final scheme must be robust enough to drive the right investment in the right mix of energy generation for the future while being flexible enough to adapt in the face of the “pervasive” uncertainty that DECC themselves identify.”