People, Organisation and Change

The UK is committed to decarbonising the electricity system in the 2030s and achieving net zero by 2050. But to achieve this, our grid will need to handle a huge influx of intermittent renewable energy, which it was not originally designed to do. Constraints on our national grid are already causing significant delays in connecting new renewable generation, costing consumers more in growing curtailment costs, and it is extending our reliance on predominantly gas-fired power stations. The transmission sector, responsible for the high-voltage movement of electricity across the UK, is on the front line of trying to urgently alleviate these constraints.

In the race to combat climate change and work towards a sustainable energy future, strategic partnerships have emerged as powerful vehicles of collaboration within the energy industry. These partnerships bring together diverse expertise and resources, with the potential to accelerate the transition to cleaner, more sustainable energy sources. But the success of these ventures relies not only on economic alignment but also on the alignment of culture.

Culture represents the established and implicit shared beliefs and values of the individuals that are part of an organisation. It is what makes a team become more than a group of individuals. Their beliefs and values influence the way the organisation behaves and operates, how it responds to situations, and the way it performs. As a result, culture must be as front and centre in an organisation’s M&A journey as the more tangible commercial factors have always been. Without appropriate focus, challenges around culture will come to the fore and complicate integration or divestment activities. Value expected from a deal will be diluted by the hidden cost of culture.