A fairer, greener future for the North of England
A fair transition to net zero with our 2026-2031 business plan
Protecting our customers and the planet is at the heart of our plan for a sustainable transition to net zero.
And while it’s important that we continue to explore all possible low carbon technologies to decarbonise our energy systems, the reality is that gas networks are an important part of this mix and essential to our every-day lives – providing heat to millions of homes and businesses and keeping our vital industry powered up.
Northern Gas Networks (NGN) is one of the highest performing gas distribution networks in Great Britain and has been the most efficient since 2005. We believe it’s up to us to show that it’s possible to work towards a sustainable future without unfairly disadvantaging the millions of people who rely on gas to stay warm or power their businesses.
Our business plan for 2026-2031 sets out how we’re going to do that.
Our plans for 2026-2031
As an energy network, we must submit a business plan to Ofgem, the energy regulator. This plan becomes a contract with Ofgem. And it sets how much money we can receive for the essential services that we provide.
Our plan will see over £1.8 billion invested in our gas network over the next five years. This investment will ensure that we can continue to deliver exceptional customer service and network safety, reliability and resilience while stimulating growth for the region’s economy through new jobs and skills creation.
Our priority will always be to make your bill as fair as possible without disadvantaging customers in the future or compromising our high standards of service.
We’ll build on our efficiency track record to continue to deliver industry leading value for money, making every penny that we spend count while driving up performance sector wide.
We will maintain our industry leading performance when responding to gas emergencies and completing repairs to reduce the time people are without gas and reduce our environmental impact. We’ll keep improving and show other networks what’s possible.
We will keep gas flowing while getting our network ready for a fair and equitable transition to other forms of energy.
We will invest £1.8 billion in our network to make sure gas is always there when you need it and continue to keep customers safe, warm and connected. We will always ensure our investments are providing value.
We will focus on the priorities of our customers who told us they want bills to be as low as possible without compromising safety, reliability and environmental sustainability .
Strong collaboration is a recurring theme throughout our plan, tackling the challenges and opportunities faced in our region together by continuing to work closely with industry, energy stakeholders and our region’s electricity distribution and water companies, for the benefit of everyone in our Northern communities.
What is RIIO-GD3?
In our plans, you might come across the phrase RIIO-GD3. That’s the name for Ofgem’s price control period for 2026-2031. It’s the process by which we secure a revenue stream and it will determine what work we can do, the return we can provide our shareholders and how we run our business. In short, it makes sure we’re investing in the right places and that you’re paying a fair price for the service you get. The contract requires us to meet ambitious performance targets relating to safety, reliability, customer service, environment and social impact, with financial incentives for good performance and penalties for falling short.
- RIIO stands for Revenue = Incentives + Innovation + Outputs
- GD stands for Gas Distribution
- 3 means it’s the third price control period after RIIO-GD2 (2021-2026) and RIIO-GD1 (2013-2021)
How our plan will make a difference by 2031
We’ll maintain our high levels of customer service
More customers in difficult situations will get life-changing support
Our network will be safer and more reliable
NGN will play a key role in the transition to net zero
Our environmental impact will be its lowest ever level
Our data will help with a safe, secure and fair transition to net zero and drive improvements sector wide.
“As one of the largest employers in the region, we have the power to deliver significant societal and economic benefits by carefully planning our investments in people and infrastructure. Our actions today will lay the foundations for an equitable transition to net zero, for the benefit of everyone in our Northern communities.”
What this means for your bills
Today, NGN’s customers pay an average of £170 a year for the services they receive. This money goes toward making sure our pipes are safe and reliable, delivering our 24/7 emergency response service and preparing our network for the future to continue to keep homes and businesses warm and industry powered up.
We believe that gas in one form or another will continue to play a vital role in the energy system for decades to come. However, with government policy focused on the electrification of heat, Ofgem are considering policy decisions relating to the way it calculates how customers pay back costs associated with the billion-pound gas network, which include repaying the asset value over a shorter period of time. If implemented the changes will increase costs for bill payers.
We’ve heard loud and clear that our customers’ number one priority is for bills to stay as low as possible and we’re determined to do what we can to protect people from any unnecessary cost increases without compromising our high standards of service. That’s why we’ve sought to ensure that every pound we spend delivers improvements that match with our customers priorities at the lowest cost.
Our approach will see customers pay an additional £5 on the average annual gas bill for the investment that we deliver to maintain our network, on the part of the bill that we control. Our plan also sets out an alternative mechanism for managing the repayment of network costs, to keep any bill increases as low as possible.
