Gas plays a critical role in the UK’s energy mix. It produces more than half of our energy needs and more than 8 out of 10 homes rely on us for heat, and it’s the primary fuel for power generation, providing a stable baseload of electricity. We’re also fully behind the drive to net-zero; alongside renewable energy, gas has played a key role in largely removing coal from the energy mix over the past eight years. None of that is going to change overnight. In fact, the UK can’t reach net zero by 2050 without natural gas and hydrogen playing a part in decarbonising transport, power, heat and industry.
Alongside that, the amount of work needed on the gas national transmission system (NTS) is bigger than ever for our current regulatory period, RIIO-2. The programme will improve the current network, reducing emissions, and pave the way towards decarbonising future infrastructure. There’s a lot for us to deliver over the next five years, putting our business in a great position to grow. In March 2021, National Grid announced its intention to sell a majority stake in National Grid Gas plc. We expect that the gas business will become a separate company in the first half of 2022.
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