UK Energy Strategy

UK Energy Strategy - Oct 2026

A position paper from the Institution of Engineers in Scotland. The United Kingdom has committed to Net Zero by 2050, while electricity demand is expected to rise substantially as transport, heating and industry become more electrified. It is challenging to achieve the transition to low carbon electricity and deliver at the same time lower costs, system security and resilience.

Executive Summary

The United Kingdom has committed to Net Zero by 2050, while electricity demand is expected to rise substantially as transport, heating and industry become more electrified. It is challenging to achieve the transition to low carbon electricity and deliver at the same time lower costs, system security and resilience.

Britain has some of the highest domestic and industrial electricity prices in the developed world.[11,24] Bringing those costs down should therefore be a central objective of energy policy. That means looking beyond the generating cost of individual technologies and asking a more important question: what does it cost to deliver reliable electricity to the consumer? Generation, networks, storage, balancing, constraint payments, backup capacity and system-security services all contribute to that final cost.

Background to the Paper

The Institution of Engineers in Scotland was founded in 1857 as a forum where engineers from different disciplines could exchange experience, challenge ideas and contribute to technical progress. Its membership has included many of Scotland’s leading engineers, scientists, academics and industrialists, and it has hosted presentations from recognised authorities across a wide range of fields. That tradition of evening paper presentations continues today, alongside close links with the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

This paper has been prepared by engineers from a range of disciplines, drawing on decades of industrial experience. It combines analysis of published energy-policy statements with a gap analysis of issues that are integral to implementation but are not always addressed explicitly. It also draws on the practical experience of contributors who have worked in electricity generation, transmission and distribution.

The technical analysis, judgements and recommendations in this paper originate from the contributing expert group. AI-assisted tools have been used to support editing, consistency and presentation. Responsibility for the content and conclusions remains with the authors.