Ofgem said it was disappointed the process had to be delayed beyond 1 March 2024, but recognised that “the unprecedented volume of new applications to connect to the transmission system” made the extension “a pragmatic way forward in the circumstances for the benefit of customers”.
The regulator also instructed NGESO to consider the interactions of the two-step process with proposals the operator is bringing forward following the publication of the UK’s Connections Action Plan in November 2023, which aims to speed up grid connections to just six months.
Two-step process
Ofgem originally approved the time-limited two-step process in February 2023. In Step 1, a connecting party would receive an interim offer securing a place in the transmission entry capacity (TEC) queue, a point of connection, and a date for the latest year it will be connected by.
In Step 2, the connecting party would receive all the details of a connection offer. There was an expectation that, for most applications, Step 2 would include an earlier connection date.
Ofgem said its “clear expectation” was that the process would be completed within 12 months, by 1 March 2024, at which point all parties would have received a connection offer reflecting updated construction planning assumptions (CPAs) and revised assumptions around transmission reinforcement works (TRW).
Overwhelming volumes
NGESO and NGET received 500 applications through the two-step process, representing more than 150GW – equivalent to around one-third of Great Britain’s total transmission pipeline.
“Despite the implementation of new CPAs, this unprecedented volume of applications is driving connection agreements to include provisions for significant new reinforcement works (enabling works), including new overhead lines (OHL) and new substations,” Ofgem said.
The scale of the reinforcement works identified is more than will be recommended in NGESO’s upcoming network plan for Great Britain’s electricity transmission system to 2035 – the second Transitional Centralised Strategic Network Plan (tCSNP2) – which covers both offshore and onshore.
The tCSNP2 comprises the proposed investments required to develop the country’s transmission system to the extent needed to ensure the UK can achieve its offshore wind goal of 50GW by 2030.
Managing expectations
If Step 2 offers were produced based on significant new reinforcements over and above what is included in tCSNP2, NGET and NGESO said the majority of customers would receive an offer with a connection date later than that in the Step 1 offer.
The three-month extension allows NGESO and NGET to review the enabling works included in Step 2 connection offers to improve dates for some customers.
All OHL enabling works triggered in the Step 2 connection offers will be reviewed against the investments proposed within tCSNP2, and any that are additional to the national plan will be removed from connection offers.
NGET and NGESO said this should result in 60% of customers receiving a connection date that is no later than their Step 1 offer. Of the 40% still expected to receive a delayed connection date in the Step 2 offer, NGESO will work to see if these can be improved.
New deadlines
The timeline extension means applicants still awaiting a Step 2 offer will now receive it by 1 June 2024. “We expect NGESO and NGET to take reasonable steps to issue offers to customers as they are ready, rather than holding back offers until 1 June 2024,” Ofgem stressed.
For all new applications received between 27 November 2023 and 29 February 2024, the ‘clock start date’ was pushed back to 1 March 2024, which means they will get a Step 1 connection offer by 1 June 2024.
These applications will be reviewed sequentially following completion of the outstanding Step 2 offers. For applications received after 1 March 2024, NGESO is obligated to issue connection offers within three months.
“We want to make clear that our expectation is that NGESO and NGET will meet the new deadlines,” Ofgem said. If they do not, the regulator will consider them to be in breach of their licence obligations, and may take enforcement action, it added.
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