Nick Winser, who now provides independent advice to ministers on electricity network issues, said that, while challenging, speeding up the delivery of strategic electricity transmission lines is “vital and achievable”.

Winser also suggests that new power lines could be built in half the time compared to current infrastructure. He has put forward a set of recommendations to reduce timescales for delivering onshore transmission network infrastructure to seven years to help deliver energy security more quickly.

It currently takes around 12 to 14 years to get new big transmission lines up and running, the report said – around twice the time it takes to put up a large wind farm.

The energy security secretary, Grant Shapps, welcomed the report, saying he will consider the recommendations before presenting an action plan later this year.

“The UK is leading the world on renewable energy and decarbonising faster than any other country in the G7,” he said.

“We...