The official tasked with keeping the lights on across the UK has called Labour’s plan of decarbonising the power grid by 2030 “incredibly challenging but achievable” as his organisation moved into public hands on Tuesday.
Fintan Slye, chief executive of the National Energy System Operator (Neso), told the PA news agency the policy will require the energy industry and the Government “to do things very differently, and to do things quicker, but it is nevertheless achievable”.
Neso manages the UK’s electricity supply, balancing supply and demand in real time to avoid blackouts.
Until the end of September it was called the Electricity System Operator (ESO) and was owned by National Grid, which listed on the London Stock Exchange.
The Government recently confirmed plans to buy the organisation, and add an extra letter to its acronym, for £630 million.
Part of Neso’s new remit is to advise Labour on how to achieve a clean power…


