RIIO (Revenue = Incentives + Innovation + Outputs) is the price control Ofgem, the UK energy regulator, uses for gas and electricity networks. RIIO-3 runs for five years from April 2026 for gas distribution, gas transmission and electricity transmission. Electricity distribution follows its own cycle, RIIO-ED2, which runs to March 2028. Whichever control applies, the direction of travel is the same: networks are funded for the outcomes they can justify. Investment at substations, above-ground installations, compressor sites and other network sites needs a clear line of sight from the condition of the asset to the intervention chosen and the value it delivers.
At portfolio level, that story is told through Engineering Justification Papers (EJPs), cost-benefit analysis and Network Asset Risk Metric (NARM) reporting. But every one of those documents is built on site-level facts: what defects were found, how serious they are, what options were considered and why one was chosen.
What a defensible decision looks like
Whether the reviewer is Ofgem, an investment committee or an engineer inheriting the site five years from now, the same questions come up:
- Evidence. What is wrong, where and how do we know? Defects located and backed by photos, drone imagery and survey data.
- Scope. What work would address it and what does each item cost?
- Options. Which credible combinations of scope were considered, including the “do nothing” baseline and a “do minimum”?
- Evaluation. How do the options compare on cost against target, defects closed and remaining risk and what did stakeholders think?
- Decision. Which option was selected, why, by whom and when?
Where the chain usually breaks
- Evidence is scattered across drives, inboxes and survey tools, separated from the defects it proves.
- Scope lacks traceability. It's hard to show which defect each scope item addresses.
- Options and rationale are lost. Options are compared in meetings and only the winner reaches the plan.
- Knowledge is fragmented. Context leaves when framework contractors and engineers move on.
Building the development record as you go
- Record defects and comments on the site image or drawing, so location is unambiguous.
- Link every photo to the defect, comment or scope item it supports.
- Score risk consistently, using the same likelihood × consequence matrix on every site.
- Build options from scope items so comparisons show exactly what each option fixes and what risk remains.
- Capture stakeholder preferences and the reasons for the selected option.
- Track open actions, especially those that should block approval.
Done well, this record becomes the raw material for EJPs, NARM reporting and post-investment reviews. Written once, reused many times.
From site record to EJP
Here's how each section of an Engineering Justification Paper maps onto a DevelopVault site record:
| EJP section | Where it comes from in DevelopVault |
|---|---|
| Needs case | Defects scored on a 5×5 likelihood × consequence matrix, located on the drone image or drawing, with the photos that prove them. |
| Options considered | Every option built from scope items, with Do Nothing always included, costed and risk-scored as the baseline. |
| Option assessment | Every option assessed against the same criteria, such as residual risk, cost performance and defects closed or reduced, with stakeholder votes side by side. |
| Preferred option | The selected option and a recorded approval: who approved it, when and their notes. |
| Costs | Scope items priced from your interventions catalogue and linked to funding lines. |
| Deliverability | Open actions and approval blockers, with owners, due dates and the options they affect. |
| Evidence base | The evidence library and a one-click PDF decision pack for each site. |
For the wider method, including long lists, short lists, do nothing and do minimum, see our practical guide to optioneering.
How DevelopVault helps
DevelopVault Enterprise was built on live UK energy network programmes to do exactly this: one visual development record from evidence through to the preferred solution, with a decision pack for each site, deployed inside your own environment. For anyone who develops and compares options, from project managers and engineers to consultants and contractors, DevelopVault Pro brings the same way of working in a simple subscription.
This guide is general information, not regulatory advice. Refer to Ofgem's published RIIO determinations for your sector and your licence obligations.