The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has published its summer 2025 update on the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA), following the previous update in December 2024.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has commissioned and published the terms of reference for an independent review of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The review has been required following the last formal review in 2021 and to meet a condition set by His Majesty’s Treasury in the 2025–26 Spending Review. Its purpose is to provide assurance to His Majesty’s government that the NDA is performing effectively, is properly governed, and delivers value for money. It will also take account of Scottish Ministers’ formal role in NDA governance and the Authority’s responsibility for the safe and secure clean‑up of the UK’s civil nuclear legacy.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has published the terms of reference and membership for the North Sea Future Board (NSF Board), a new Ministerial-chaired advisory body established under the government’s North Sea Future Plan. The NSF Board is intended to act as the central forum for collaboration between government, industry, regional organisations and trade unions to support delivery of the UK’s energy transition in the North Sea, including clean energy deployment, workforce transition and supply chain development. The Board will provide external expertise and may inform related government policy, although DESNZ will retain responsibility for all policy and spending decisions.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has published its third statutory review of the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) under Section 16 of the Energy Act 2016, concluding that the NSTA continues to fulfil its duties effectively. The government proposes replacing the NSTA's current Maximising Economic Recovery objective with three balanced objectives: (1) covering economic value; (2) net zero targets under the Climate Change Act 2008 and (3) clean energy transition benefits. A package of revised powers includes strengthening dispute resolution powers with potential binding status, increasing maximum financial penalties from £1 million to £5 million with power to extend to £10 million, introducing enforceable milestones in well decommissioning programmes and enabling the NSTA to take financial security from operators with pre-2009 wells. The review follows the 2025 'Building the North Sea's energy future' consultation and notes the NSTA imposed £1.4 million in fines for flaring and venting breaches since 2021, while decommissioning cost estimates increased 11% to £44 billion since 2022. The revised objectives will be legislated when parliamentary time allows.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has published an updated version of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) framework document. This document outlines the governance framework and formal operating relationship between DESNZ and the UKAEA.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has published updated guidance on eligible capital expenditure within the GB Capacity Market (CM). The Capacity Market (Amendment) (No 2) Rules 2020 amended the definition to require that capital expenditure related to property, plant and equipment must be primarily for the purpose of delivering capacity. This updated definition applies to agreements awarded after the amended rules took effect in July 2020. The guidance provides greater clarity for prospective CM applicants and existing agreement holders, particularly in relation to multi-year agreements for Demand Side Response CM Units. It should be read alongside the Capacity Market Rules 2014 (as amended), and the Electricity Capacity Regulations 2014, SI 2014/2043 (as amended).

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has published clarifications to its April 2025 response, following its November 2024 consultation on mid-scheme changes to the Energy Company Obligation 4 (ECO4) and Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS). The update addresses two key areas. Despite initial plans to remove annual targets from GBIS to simplify the scheme, they will remain in place. This decision ensures that participants who missed earlier phase targets can still count reassigned delivery from ECO4 towards their overall obligations for home-heating cost reductions and low-income support, rather than being tied to specific phase targets. In addition, the timing for checking whether a property falls within a rural area has been clarified. For ECO4 measures, the check will occur when Ofgem is first notified of a project in writing on or after the effective date of the amending Order. For GBIS measures, it will be when Ofgem is formally notified in accordance with the 2023 Order. This adjustment aligns with current Ofgem processes, reducing disruption for both participants and the regulator.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has published updated supplementary environmental impact assessment (EIA) guidance on assessing the climate effects of scope 3 emissions from offshore oil and gas projects. The guidance clarifies how offshore oil and gas developers should assess the global environmental impacts of proposed projects in already licensed oil and gas fields. This follows the Supreme Court’s ruling in Finch v Surrey County Council [2024] UKSC 20, which required the local authority to consider the impact of downstream emissions from burning extracted oil and gas as part of the EIAs in an onshore oil and gas development.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has published a working paper, seeking views on the design of a potential mandatory community benefits scheme for low carbon energy infrastructure, alongside options to support shared ownership of renewable generation infrastructure. The paper covers: (1) the scope of the proposed scheme; (2) potential administration and enforcement mechanisms; and (3) strategies to facilitate shared ownership of renewable generation infrastructure, including whether to exercise powers under the Infrastructure Act 2015 (IA 2015) to establish a mandatory approach or to maintain the current voluntary approach. Under the proposals, energy developers would be required to contribute to community benefit funds, ensuring that families, businesses, and local community groups residing near offshore wind, onshore wind, and solar farms benefit directly from these projects. The paper also outlines how communities could own a stake in such infrastructure through shared ownership, with profits being reinvested locally. It further invites feedback on which types of energy infrastructure should be mandated to contribute to such funds. Responses are due by 16 July 2025.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), Department for Business and Trade, HM Treasury, Great British Energy (GB Energy) and the National Wealth Fund (NWF) have released a joint open letter to clean energy developers and investors. The letter announces £300m in initial funding through GB Energy for domestic offshore wind supply chains, and outlines the NWF's £27.8bn deployment capacity across loans, equity investments and guarantees. The government plans to publish a Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan in Spring 2025, following recent Ofgem reforms to accelerate grid connections. The initiative aims to position the UK as a destination for clean energy investment, supporting the government's target of achieving a clean power system by 2030.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has published its response to the consultation on proposed changes to the Nuclear Safeguards (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (NSR19) and the Nuclear Safeguards (Fees) Regulations 2021. DESNZ confirms it will proceed with amendments to remove obsolete Euratom-transition provisions and improve clarity, efficiency and alignment with International Atomic Energy Agency standards. It will replace Basic Technical Characteristics (BTC)s with Design Information Questionnaires (DIQ)s through a staged three-year transition period, and revise reporting deadlines, including 23 days for design information changes, 13 days for export notifications and seven days for import notifications.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has released its response to a consultation, which ran between January and March 2024, regarding the implementation of the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) recommendations that a statutory open data scheme for fuel prices (known as 'Fuel Finder') and an ongoing road fuels price monitoring function be created to enhance transparency in the road fuel market. This consultation sought stakeholders' views on the recommendations. In its response, the DESNZ has affirmed its commitment to swiftly implement the Fuel Finder scheme, stating that a procurement exercise will take place in early 2025, with the aim of launching by the end of 2025. Furthermore, the CMA’s monitoring function is set to commence by January 2025, supported by its statutory information-gathering powers outlined in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.