Reading Council fears over lack of electricity capacity

As new homes are built, essential electricity connections are established to ensure these homes have power, not only for cooking and heating but also for electric car charging.

The council has goals to boost electric car use and phase out the use of gas boilers by requiring developers to provide heat to new homes via air-source heat pumps.

But a top councillor has raised fears that electricity provider Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution has capped the amount of electricity network connections that facilitate electric car charging and air source heat pump use.

Earlier this year, the amount of air source heat pumps that were going to be provided at the Reading Golf Course was drastically reduced following advice given to the developers Vistry by SSEN.

The amount of air source heat pumps that will delivered went down from all 223 homes to 81, a reduction which was approved along with other details in March.

The entrance to the Reading Golf Course development, which will be called Emmer Green Drive. Credit: James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporting Service

Now, the council’s Labour administration has criticised SSEN and is seeking to work with the electricity company to increase capacity.

Micky Leng (Labour, Whitley) lead councillor for planning & assets said: “The impact of SSEN’s cap on electricity network connections puts at risk a range of development projects across our town and could derail the progress made locally in helping to tackle the climate crisis.

“With new sustainable homes a part of the Local Plan, alongside the Council’s plans for more solar installations and investment in EV infrastructure, Reading is well-placed to build on that progress.

“Without serious investment in the local network and changes in how it is allocated however, we must question how much of it will be achievable.”

The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked SSEN to explain why new connections needed to facilitate car charging and air source heat pump installation has not been delivered.

In reply, a spokesperson for SSEN Distribution said: “We are committed to delivering an electricity network to accelerate local ambitions and are working with all local authorities, including Reading Borough Council, to understand and respond to their net zero priorities and wider development plans.

“Given the recent well-documented increase in grid connection requests, there are some areas, including parts of Reading, where larger connections are now subject to capacity restrictions until planned major network upgrades are complete.

“We would like to reassure communities and developers that over 95 per cent of requests to connect to our network are able to proceed without restriction and every effort is being made to remove or mitigate restrictions where they exist.

“This includes reviewing connections queues, seeking to remove projects that are not progressing at the required pace, and exploring the ability to shift available capacity from other parts of our network.

“We will continue to work closely with the council and those seeking connections to the network to update on progress alongside collaboration to build a stronger understanding of future demand forecasts to inform our planning models.”

The lack of electricity capacity delivery to developments such as the Reading Golf Course development will be discussed by Reading Borough Council’s policy committee on Monday, September 25.

Cllr Leng said: “The Council now intends to work with SSEN and other local bodies who share our concerns to both shine a light on this issue, and to examine how we can influence key decision-makers to bring about the changes needed, without which local councils and developers are effectively paralysed and locked into fossil fuels.”

It is recommended that the policy committee consider options to work with SSEN on a local, regional and strategic level to ensure there is capacity to facilitate the council’s zero carbon goals into the future.