Why integrated planning is crucial for modern energy infrastructure
Energy networks face intensifying pressure: ageing assets, tighter regulation, and rising customer expectations. For utilities operating critical infrastructure, the question is no longer whether to transform capital planning—but how quickly and effectively to do it.
The challenge
Traditional approaches like disconnected spreadsheets, siloed systems, and short-term fixes struggle to keep pace. Plans look credible on paper yet under-deliver in practice because data, risk, and delivery are not unified.
The NGT case
National Gas Transmission (NGT) in Great Britain manages 7,600 km of high-pressure pipelines. To address ageing assets, escalating costs, and growing scrutiny over every pound invested, NGT redefined capital planning as a strategic capability, not an operational task.
What changed
By implementing the IFS Copperleaf® Asset Investment Planning (AIP) solution, NGT created a single, adaptive process that brings together:
- Asset risk modelling to quantify probability and consequence of failure
- Capital optimisation to prioritise the highest-value portfolio under constraints
- Delivery alignment to connect investment decisions with strategy and execution
This approach enables real-time trade-offs, defensible, data-backed decisions, and the agility to re-optimise as conditions shift.
Measurable impact
- 4% improvement in capital efficiency means ~£11 million in annual savings
- Unified data across teams for clearer governance
- Stronger regulatory defensibility and risk management
- Faster adaptation to changing priorities and constraints
Why it matters
Integrated planning doesn’t just reduce cost, it elevates capital planning into a strategic competency. Energy organisations gain:
- Regulatory confidence through transparent, auditable decisions
- ESG progress by targeting investments that deliver the most environmental and societal value
- Enduring value as every pound is directed to the highest impact