Future System Operator: second policy consultation and project update

Consultation on 2 new policy areas for the Future System Operator (FSO) related to resilience and security, as well as an update on overall FSO project status, including implementation and potential future roles.

Government and Ofgem previously set out a commitment to create a Future System Operator, as an expert, impartial body with responsibilities across both the electricity and gas systems, to drive progress towards net zero while maintaining energy security and minimising costs for consumers.

The FSO will be established in public ownership, in a way which ensures its independence - not only of asset ownership and other commercial energy interests, but also from day-to-day operational control of government. As a trusted and expert body at the centre of the gas and electricity systems, the FSO should ultimately be able to weigh up and advise on the impacts and trade-offs across energy vectors and plan our energy system from a more strategic, whole system perspective.

In this document we are consulting on:

• the detail of new Day 1 resilience and security roles for the FSO
• a new power for the Secretary of State to direct the FSO in certain limited circumstances related to national security

We are consulting on these 2 elements at this time because we intend them to be set out in the FSO’s Day 1 licences and they were not covered in our previous consultation.  

We also provide an update on: 

• the overall implementation of the reform
• other key roles, previously consulted on, that we intend to include in the FSO’s Day 1 licences
• potential future roles the FSO could take on in the longer-term (post Day 1) following further policy development, some of which will be subject to their own consultations, as appropriate

Read our consultation privacy notice.