November ISG Blog
November has seen a huge amount of work by NGN and the ISG as final preparations are carried out for the RIIO-3 business plan.
The Group met on 4 November (hybrid in person at NGN headquarters and online for members of the ISG unable to travel) .
The purpose of the meeting was to review the third version of the business plan and to walk through each section to understand what changes had been made in response to our feedback – and feedback from other stakeholders.
NGN is making further final changes following a full review of costs – in response to some challenges by the ISG and we expect to see the very final version on 18 November – tracking where changes have been made.
We have continued to hold deep dive sessions into areas where information to us has been provided later in the process (mostly around innovation/data and digitalisation and workforce resilience).
We will continue to review strategy documents/annexes and the final full version of the plan although our opportunity to influence further changes before submission has now ended to allow the Board to reflect on the implications for shareholders and customers and then sign off on the proposals with an assurance statement.
We have consolidated all guidance received on our role to date, (including more detailed information from two meetings held in October involving Ofgem and the ISG Chairs), linked to the Terms of Reference we had developed for the Group.
This will help guide us through the next stage as we prepare our response to Ofgem’s Call for Evidence due to be published on 18 December. This is our opportunity to share with Ofgem and other stakeholders our views on the business plan and how much it reflects what the company has heard from stakeholders and customers.
The Business Plan is a document for Ofgem – justifying the investment NGN needs, and the activities it must undertake to provide the level of service that address the concerns, and meets the needs, of stakeholders Keeping costs down has been a clear message from those engaged in the process, and it is right that we have pushed hard on costs, However we have also heard your views on safety and reliability, and wanting to do the right thing for the environment, and have sought to ensure thoughtful debate and consideration to balance all of these important factors.
NGN is also producing a condensed version of the plan for its customer audience, which we have encouraged them to publish alongside its detailed plan for Ofgem.