UK energy regulators advance grid connections reforms

Last week saw a significant step forward in the journey to modernise Great Britain’s grid connection process, as part of DESNZ and Ofgem’s Connections Action Plan and NESO’s TMO4+ reforms. These processes are designed to complement the Government’s plan to decarbonise the electricity system by 2030, helping to support a decentralised grid that is undergoing rapid transformation and now has to cope with changing consumption demands alongside a network of small, renewable energy generators.

Among the announcements were NESO’s publication of Connections Reform Results and the Updated Proposals and Next Steps for Ofgem’s Connections End-to-end Review, which looks at the regulatory framework that governs the electricity grid connections process.

NESO’s Connections Reform Results

NESO confirmed a new 283GW pipeline of shovel-ready projects that will be prioritised for connection to the electricity networks. These “Gate 2” offers have been decided based on 1) "Gate 2 Readiness" criteria and 2) "Strategic Alignment" with the UK's energy goals, with all other projects that did meet these requirements placed in “Gate 1”. The results are broken down by technology and timings - Phase 1 (prioritised for 2030) and Phase 2 (prioritised for 2035).

This announcement marked the start of customer notifications about applications, many of which will have already been sent to individual projects via email. These will be split into three categories: 1) Gate 2 (met criteria for detailed checks); 2) Gate 2 (subject to detailed checks); and 3) Gate 1 (did not meet the Strategic Alignment criteria). NESO has issued a new handbook on how to understand notifications.

The pipeline includes 99GW of transmission-connected demand, with all 'ready' projects included. Notably, only around 13GW of the 100GW will be prioritised for 2030, with the majority falling into the 2035 category. Whilst this raises questions over short-term grown ambitions, it may be explained by concerns over speculative demand and the fact that many transmission-connected demand projects had both firm and non-firm components to connection agreements, whilst only firm agreements were prioritised.

Ofgem’s Connections End-to-end Review

Ofgem’s Connections End-to-end Review update was also a significant moment for the sector, serving as the regulator’s response to a public consultation earlier in the year. techUK was delighted to see many of the recommendations in its consultation response taken forward by Ofgem, which has among things pledged to improve the visibility and accuracy of connections data – a key ask in an industry letter techUK signed recently.

Notable commitments from Ofgem include:

Exploring the introduction of a new licence condition to improve the quality of connections data as a whole, requiring connections data to be (1) accurate and complete, and (2) as close to real-time as is feasible, with monthly updates at a minimum.

Introducing a requirement for network companies to publish a ‘Demand Capacity Register’, similar to the ECR, into the regulatory framework. This would allow DNOs and TOs to publish demand connections data openly, subject to open data triage.

Requiring NESO/ENA to undertake a Five Case Business Case (a structured framework that ensures decisions are robust, transparent, and deliver value for money) to inform whether the creation of a single digital view is worthwhile.

Exploring the introduction of prescriptive and principles-based licence conditions that specify minimum requirements and set a clear expectation in relation to standards of service throughout the connections process.

Progressing the proposal to introduce a new obligation on network companies to offer ambitious yet achievable connection dates, through a strengthened principles-based licence condition.

Proposing to require network companies, with the support of the ENA and NESO, to explore agreeing a standard way of dealing with disputes.

Next steps

On NESO’s Connections Reforms, the key milestones are:

For Gate 2 projects, the Modification Offer must be signed within 90 days.

For Gate 1 projects, the Agreement to Vary must be signed within 4 weeks.

A dedicated team will be available to answer inquiries about outcomes via the NESO connections portal – guidance here.

Gate 1 offers will start to go out this month, followed by Protected Transmission connected projects offers (with 26/27 dates) by the end of January 2026. The final customer offers regarding applications up to and including 2030 should be made by the end of Q2 2026.

On the Connections End-to-End Review, Ofgem is seeking further stakeholder views on its proposals through a consultation due on 27 February 2026, to which techUK will be responding. Ofgem expects to publish an update in summer 2026 detailing next steps, in response to the feedback received.

Please get in contact with [email protected] if you would like to contribute to the consultation response or have any questions.

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