Design considerations for a Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan

Overview

Extended Consultation Period:

The Department has received requests to extend this consultation. In order to support well-considered responses, the Department has extended the close of the consultation period by one week, from Friday 12 April, to Friday 19 April, 23:59

Overview
The Department for the Economy (DfE) is seeking stakeholders' views on the shape of Northern Ireland’s future Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan for our energy systems.  The SSFP is a path forward for the policy developments needed to deliver the Executive’s Energy Strategy, and the energy side of the Climate Change Act decarbonisation targets.

Northern Ireland (NI) will need to transform its energy system, and especially its elecricity system to deliver the net zero targets in the Executive's Energy Strategy and the Climate Change Act 2023.

The SSFP will set the pathway forward for the energy system policies which NI will need to achieve its net zero targets.

Throughout this consultation there are a number of links to other useful websites and documents. You can right click the link and select open in a new tab so that you can move between the consultation and new link or you can double click the link to open and should press the back arrow on your browser to return to your consultation. 

Why your views matter

Energy affects everyone.  This is especially true in NI where we have significant heating needs.  We currently rely on fossil fuels to give us heat, power and transport.  We will need to transform our energy system, so this will affect everyone in NI, and thus our plan for the path forward to achieve our net zero targets will affect everyone.

With such a broad effect it is important that we (the Department) receive the views of NI citizens and energy consumers to ensure that the transition to a new, renewables based, smart and flexible energy system is just and fair, and that it achieves all of our aims in a sufficiently timely manner.

What happens next

DfE will use the reults of this consultation to design a Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan.  DfE intends to consult with the Working Group which it has set up for the SSFP, on the results of this consultation, and intends then to consult publicly on the final proposed draft of the SSFP.

DfE intends that the final draft of the proposed SSFP will be available for consultation in the summer of 2024.