We welcome the National Energy System Operator (NESO)’s ambition for meaningful and comprehensive engagement with diverse communities, economic interests and societal groups throughout the development of the SSEP and the CSNP. At the very least, we expect the use of surveys, focus groups, roundtables, stakeholder meetings, events and webinars to engage with people directly. It is imperative that public consultation over these plans includes targeted engagement with communities who will see la...

We welcome the National Energy System Operator (NESO)’s ambition for meaningful and comprehensive engagement with diverse communities, economic interests and societal groups throughout the development of the SSEP and the CSNP. At the very least, we expect the use of surveys, focus groups, roundtables, stakeholder meetings, events and webinars to engage with people directly. It is imperative that public consultation over these plans includes targeted engagement with communities who will see large volumes of infrastructure, clusters of projects, or energy infrastructure in their locality for this first time, as set out in the SSEP methodology. Type: conclusion | Number: 21 | Response status: accepted Government response: NESO is undertaking extensive engagement on the SSEP which is already underway, ahead of the public consultation which will be published in 2026. NESO is conducting societal engagement through various means including focus groups and questionnaires. We are committed to