Proactive Investors - National Grid PLC (LON:NG) boss John Pettigrew complained that new power lines could take a decade to build because of ineffective planning rules.
Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting, he said: “Typically, to build a transmission line in the UK it takes about 10 years.
“Seven of it is in the planning process and three in construction.”
Under the current regulation, some are concerned the slow timelines could delay connecting renewable energy to the grid and therefore hinder the UK’s goal to create a carbon-neutral network by 2035.
Ofgem, the energy watchdog, threatened to strip National Grid of its role in the planning process because of the “unacceptable” delays.
National Grid manages the waiting list for these projects but claims it is forced to operate on a first come first serve basis.
This means legitimate projects including renewable energy schemes are forced to wait while highly speculative plans are dealt with.
Earlier this year, National Grid claimed it had around 600 requests to process, with only 30% expected to ever come to fruition.
“We need a new regulatory framework to accelerate the ability for people who have genuinely got projects they want to get onto the system,” Pettigrew concluded.