Whether it’s rolling out electric vehicle (EV) charging across towns and cities, retrofitting their own estates, developing heat networks, investing in solar farms, or providing incentives and advice for households, local authorities have a crucial role to play in delivering net zero. And it’s a role they are acutely aware of and extremely keen to seize. Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) reports that over 82% of local authorities have declared climate emergencies across the UK – that’s 323 out of 393 councils – and many have announced net zero targets 20 years or more ahead of national ambition.

Yet very few have detailed plans for how these targets will be achieved.

What has become increasingly clear is that if local authorities are to meet these pressing targets, they cannot do it alone. Undergoing a successful energy transition is all about working in partnership – particularly with energy networks, with which they share a common end goal. Transitioning the grid to net zero to accommodate more development, while ditching fossil fuels in buildings and vehicles, requires huge investment in infrastructure. Aligning the plans and requirements of local authorities with the capabilities of the energy distribution companies is therefore a no-brainer.

For several years ESC has taken the role of chief dot-joiner. It has done so by developing a methodology that local authorities can use to take a holistic approach to decarbonisation and plan their transition to net zero in consort with the energy networks in their areas. The Catapult provides a seven step guide on how to get from A to B – including working out where ‘A’ actually is, and how much it will cost to get to the end of the journey. The guide essentially shows local authorities how to draw up Local Area Energy Plans (LAEPS).

Adoption of LAEPs has been gaining traction, but the cost of compiling them – at around £100,000 per 500,000 head of population – has made many local authorities hesitate.

This Utility Week report takes an in-depth look at how local authorities’ decarbonisation plans are progressing and their attitudes to LAEPs, as well as the stumbling blocks on the way to developing them. It also investigates what level and type of support they would like from energy networks to help them draw up their own LAEPs.

The report is in association with the electricity distribution network operator (and distribution system operator) SSEN and gas distribution network SGN. It is based on online and telephone surveys, one-to-one video interviews with local authorities, and an in-person workshop. The methodology can be viewed here.