Beyond 2030: A plan-led approach
Northern Ireland is now more than halfway through the Energy Strategy timeframe with the Mid-Year Review published by the Department for Economy in December 2025.
Along with the Climate Change Act, the Energy Strategy established the strategic direction Northern Ireland would take until 2030 and set associated ambitious targets for statutory bodies and industry stakeholders.
Approximately 47 per cent of electricity consumption comes from renewable sources, the green economy is estimated to have £1.41 billion turnover and we have seen developments in the Renewable Energy Price Guarantee (REPG), smart metering and green skills. The Mid-Year Review re-emphasises that delivering net zero in Northern Ireland has a critical dependency on accelerating electricity network investment, unlocking renewable connections and enabling electrification at pace, while protecting consumers.
It is appropriate that attention also turns to what comes post 2030.
“Northern Ireland has strong statutory climate targets, an Energy Strategy in place and active stakeholders. I think it would be helpful to look beyond the horizon of 2030 to a shared, plan-led framework,” says Ciarán McManus, Managing Director, NIE Networks.
McManus is the newly appointed Managing Director of NIE Networks. Having joined NIE Networks in April, McManus brings a unique perspective having worked in the energy industry across Ireland, UK, and America.
He previously held a number of positions within the ESB Group in thermal generation, large-scale capital infrastructure delivery and major projects, helping to secure the first offshore wind auction (Tonn Nua) in a joint venture with offshore wind developer Orsted. Working with renewable energy developers and network operators in America also provided additional perspective on how things could be done.
“The pace of delivery in America is the single biggest difference. Their systems, planning and environmental protections are materially different than here but their focus on delivery is relentless and everything is geared around that delivery at a local level.”
A perspective worth noting as Northern Ireland is currently working to streamline its own planning and decision-making processes for critical infrastructure.
It therefore makes sense that any future plans should be as integrated as possible.
McManus continues: “There is a large degree of consensus across the sector in terms of the role electricity and renewable generation can deliver for the homes and businesses of Northern Ireland but that collaboration has to move beyond alignment of thought. There remain some important policy, affordability and delivery questions to be addressed so working together on a co-ordinated, plan-led approach for the next decade would maintain that strong alignment as we progress towards our collective goals.”
An Energy Consensus: Developing a Regional Integrated Energy System references that alignment. The KPMG Report published in November 2025 was commissioned by the Northern Ireland gas network operators and presented a collaborative approach from Phoenix Energy, NIE Networks, SONI, and Mutual Energy. It was presented as a starting point for further cross-sectoral policy development, investment planning, and public engagement. It argues that Northern Ireland can only achieve a secure, affordable and socially acceptable transition through a whole-system, integrated approach in which renewable electricity leads decarbonisation, supported by storage, flexible generation and better use of existing infrastructure.
It is something that McManus is eager to expand upon: “That collaboration must include energy infrastructure, transport, housing, water and wider economic planning under a shared long-term framework. Starting to work together on a combined plan that aligns our planning, economic and energy aspirations will maximise the potential across all three areas.”
NIE Networks’ strategy
McManus has joined NIE Networks one year into its ambitious RP7 price control period. Allowing for £2.23 billion of expenditure, RP7 is a step change in investment for the company and includes a £250 million refurbishment programme known publicly as “The Big Network Rebuild”.
A doubling of capital construction from their previous price control, over the six-year period they will rebuild and refurb approximately 14,000km of the electricity distribution network to ensure a more reliable and resilient network with quicker access and more capacity for current and future customers.
The company is also conscious that the network needs to work differently in future, using new tools to flexibly match supply with demand and to shift load to times when more capacity is available at off-peak periods.
With the rise in operational data and AI technologies, it is hoped that technological advice will play an increasing role in informing that flexibility and other network operational decisions.
McManus says: “We have an abundance of operational data so we are working to integrate IT and operational technologies and to harness AI-generated insights to improve network visibility, enhance safety, and optimise performance. We are also focused on ensuring fewer outages to deliver improved resilience and a better customer experience.
“The future will be increasingly decentralised with thousands of small producers using rooftop solar and other low-carbon technologies. As we continue to connect more low carbon technologies, particularly behind the meter technologies, we need to evolve our way of managing the overall system through data and IT.
“In markets like California and parts of Australia, distributed energy systems featuring solar PV, wind turbines, and EVs are already widespread with households feeding surplus energy back to the grid and becoming ‘prosumers’. Enabling these multi-directional flows while maintaining network stability requires decision-making which is based upon vast amounts of data, operational insight and technologies so the future distribution system operator will be as much about data as it is about overhead lines and cables.”
Linked closely to that is the company’s innovation programme with several projects underway to release capacity or provide flexible demand connections so that more use can be made of the network without additional network investment.
A just transition
The Climate Change Act included the principle of a Just Transition which focuses on achieving net zero fairly and in a way that ensures no one is left behind.
In May 2026, the Utility Regulator published its report Protecting consumers on the way to net zero: deliberative research on the Just Transition which found that the benefits of the transition were not always clear. Without such clarity and with cost of living consistently being of top concern in the Consumer Council’s latest Pulse Surveys, the challenge to empower the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy is evident.
McManus says: “Protecting the most vulnerable is fundamental. So when we are planning for a just transition we need to avoid disproportionate financial and practical burdens on those least able to cope. There is also an onus on us to deliver a future system that can provide more predictable energy costs for homes and businesses.
“There are important aspects of the Energy Strategy that must be delivered to enable an affordable and just transition. There has been movement in some areas but appropriate market incentives would strengthen this momentum so that the benefits become clearer and more accessible to all.
“An example of this can be seen in Spain where its large and rapidly growing renewable energy mix has substantially reduced its exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices and protected it from the worst electricity cost escalations seen elsewhere in Europe – particularly when combined with supportive market interventions such as the Iberian price mechanism. Their market has some differences from our own but it is an example of how well-designed interventions can have a positive impact for customers.
“Tariff reform, which is a key part of the Utility Regulator’s Forward Work Programme for this year, will be a fundamental enabler in this space but any investment decisions must continue to balance decarbonisation, resilience and affordability. A key part of that process is ensuring that communities and consumers have visibility and input to those plans.”
Electricity network as a key economic driver
The electricity network is a key economic driver and the evidence worldwide is that those countries who have closely aligned their net zero approach to economic delivery are the ones who are meeting or exceeding their climate change targets.
To meet Climate Change Act targets and ESG credentials, which are increasingly important to investors, businesses are working to decarbonise their operations. In such a volatile global market they also need to remain highly competitive and reduce their energy costs. It can become something of a conundrum as companies try to work out how to electrify operations yet remain competitive.
“A key component for businesses, in particular, is certainty. They need to know that the investments they make are based on solid foundations. Another area of focus for us is how easy and transparent the connection process is so we are working to make sure that businesses know upfront what opportunities are available, how they can make an application and that the connection process is smooth and swift,” says McManus, who adds: “We are certainly aware that our RP7 programme is central to delivery.”
It is illustrative of the pivotal role NIE Networks plays as an enabler of this integrated energy system: investing in a resilient, capacity-rich and easily accessible electricity network and coordinating closely with energy system operators. By avoiding over-optimisation of a single pathway McManus is confident that electrification can scale at pace while maintaining security of supply, affordability and consumer choice during an uncertain and highly variable transition.
The implications of the decisions they take are not lost on the managing director: “The electricity network plays a crucial role beyond its core function of delivering a safe and reliable energy supply. Its capability and performance are closely aligned to economic growth and social development so we are conscious that the decisions we make today will have lasting implications, not just for Northern Ireland, but for all of us who require a reliable electricity supply.”
The exact path that Northern Ireland will take over the coming years is uncertain; however, he is clear that the energy and ambition exists to co-ordinate a plan for the next decade and ensure that the key bodies have a seat at the table.
“That is one benefit of having compact geography; it is much easier to collaborate when you are so closely connected like we are in Northern Ireland. The KPMG report was a very helpful baseline and it is now about bringing together our expertise and data to produce a combined framework that exploits our current resources and opportunities and ensures the best route to net zero for everyone in Northern Ireland,” McManus concludes.
