Connections Reform Portal Updates

14 August 01:00am

PDF Download Updates

• Further enhancements have been made to the PDF download feature, including improved labelling, consistent formatting throughout, and the inclusion of additional data points in the relevant sections.

12 August 01:00am

PDF Download

• Further improvements made to PDF download to include DCO section and clarification of Milestone M7

Validation function

• Validation function now open for all customers who submitted before 23:59 11 August

7 August 8:01pm

Project Technologies green tick error

• Resolved an issue where the green tick was showing for Project Technologies without the section being completed

Technology category for strategic alignment missing

• Resolved an issue on the Technology page where the customer could not see the default technology category for strategic alignment for their demand project so was unable to proceed. This issue was blocking several customers completing their submissions

Displaying banner only for applicable projects

• Improvements made to the eligibility banner to not display where there are no active projects. Modify contract button will also be disabled for this case

Run-of-river Hydro Technology type

• On the 'Input TEC/Developer Capacity and Refine Technology Type for Queue Formation' page, customers are now able to enter their installed capacity where their technology is 'Run-of-river Hydro'

Gate 1 notification email

• Resolved an issue where 'null' was appearing instead of the required values in the email customers received

Strategic Alignment Dispatchable technologies

• Resolved an issue with technology definitions for "Unabated Gas" and "Low Carbon Dispatchable Power" allowing customers to be mapped to the correct CP30 technology

Completed applications showing in draft

• Resolved an issue where completed applications were still showing in draft when their submissions were complete. These will now be shown as submitted

7 August 1:00am

Submit Button Issues

• Resolved a number of issues where the submit button was incorrectly enabled/disabled meaning customers were unable to submit their applications as planned.

Confirm Minimum Acreage guidance

• Updated guidance given around minimum acreage questions to make it clearer and easier for customers to understand.

6 August 1:00am

Progress bar percentage

• Resolved an issue where the percentage complete on an application was not reflecting the amount a customer had completed. This has been rectified to show customers the amount remaining on their application5 August 1:00am

Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) and other dispatchable technologies

• Resolved an issue for customers who had CCGT and other dispatchable technologies and were unable to save the values for installed capacity.

Dispatchable Technologies

• Fixed issues with dispatchable technologies not displaying correctly in the technology section.

Strategic alignment

• Resolved an issue where technologies were not showing correctly in the strategic alignment section.

G2WQ Banner

• G2WQ banner updated.

2 August 1:00am

Protections Clause 1 files

• Resolved an issue where files were not being deleted in the Protection Clause 1 section for customers.

Protections Clause 1 notifications

• Fixed a problem where customers who changed the Planning Consent Submitted option from "Yes" to "No" were receiving irrelevant notifications, despite no documents being uploaded.

Installed Capacity

• Addressed an issue where entering 24 digits for Installed Capacity resulted in an infinite value. The Installed Capacity input is now limited to 5 digits.

Option Agreements (Form of Lease)

• Updated the Form of Lease questions to provide greater clarity.

Application Progress Bar

• Corrected an issue where the progress bar was not displaying properly for some customers while completing sections of the application form.

Protection Clause 2a files

• Resolved an issue where files were not being removed when customers changed selections in the Protection Clause 2a section.

31 July 1:00am

Queue Formation Page

• Added clarity to the options that are visible when customers are selecting planning application submitted in the Queue formation section

File upload in Mod apps for advancement

• Resolved issue where customers were unable to upload excel files for the DRC upload section in the Mod application for advancement. They are now able to upload Excel files just for this section

Strategic Alignment section

• Resolved an issue where customer with multiple technologies selecting one tech for Protections clause 1 and selecting another tech for Protections clause 2a were unable to see the Protection clause 2a section after the protections clause 1 page

30 July 1:00am

Protections 1

• Improved the clarity of questions relating to Protections 1, allowing customers to provide the necessary detail to complete their application.

Energy Storage

• Corrected a typo in the question “Import Power to Change Storage” to “Import Power to Charge Storage”.

Strategic Alignment CP30 Page Direction

• Customers selecting the CP30 option in the Strategic Alignment section were being directed to a page no longer in use. This page has now been removed, and customers will be directed to the correct next step depending on the CP30 selection they make.

Mod App Banner

• Enhanced the guidance provided to customers during the Mod App process regarding the App Fee Calculator, as several customers had requested clarification in this area.

Navigation Issues When Selecting 'Next' Without Completing the Page

• Resolved an issue where customers who selected 'Next' on the Strategic Alignment page without answering the questions were taken to an incorrect next page.

Protections Clause 1 Milestone 7 Upload Issue

• Resolved an issue where the upload functionality was appearing for the incorrect option, preventing customers who selected to provide evidence for Milestone 7 from uploading the relevant information. Also addressed a file upload size issue, increasing the limit from 10MB to the previously updated 99MB.

Strategic Alignment Green Tick Completion

• Fixed an issue where customers who selected CP30 or Non-CP30 for Strategic Alignment were still seeing the section marked as incomplete, which prevented them from completing their application.

Strategic Alignment Amber Icon

• Corrected an issue where the Strategic Alignment section was displaying an amber icon when customers began their G2TQ application. The icon now displays correctly, providing clarity for customers at the start of their application.

PDF File Size 99MB Guidance

• Added missing guidance regarding file size limits to several sections. These updates ensure customers are aware of the 99MB limit when uploading PDFs.

29 July 1:00am

Intended planning regimes

• Allowing customers that have technology stages with different planning regimes to record multiple entries. Previously only one could be selected, which limited the ability for customers to complete their application accurately

Technology guidance

• Additional guidance given to customers on technology mapping for Clean Power 2030 and prompt to contact NESO if they believe this is incorrect

Options Agreement character count

• Resolved issue for 'Other form of lease' where the character count was blank preventing customers from seeing how many characters they had used in the text field. The character count now displays correctly, helping customers stay within the limit

26 July 1:00am

Amend Connection Point Scotland

• Resolved an issue where customers with a Scottish location were not able to amend their contracted connection point  

Alternative Connection Point Scotland

• Resolved an issue where customers with a Scottish location were not able to save the latitude and longitude values when amending connection point

Connection Point decimal point Scotland

• Resolved an issue where customers entering their location details for an alternative connection point had their decimal points removed causing their application to be blocked

Strategic Alignment

• Resolved an issue where the selection of abated/unabated generation units for 'CCGT' and 'other dispatchable technology' did not save to confirm Technology Category and Refined Technology Type

Minimum Acreage table

• The Minimum Acreage table document is now visible in the guidance section, once downloaded the customer will see the document

Protections 2a

• Resolved an issue where customers were unable to submit evidence for connection dates pre 31/12/2027

Installed capacity against TEC

• Removed a warning message around installed capacity and TEC to allow customers to complete this section with clarity

File deletion

• Resolved an issue where customers were unable to delete files and upload a new one when going back to their draft application

24 July 10:26pm 

Interconnector

• Customers that have the technology type Interconnector can enter their defined Installed Capacity and save their selection in Project Technologies

Energy Storage Potential (MWh) Warning Messages

• Customers incorrectly receiving a warning message when providing values for Energy Storage Potential, where the tech is Energy Storage system, will now be able to progress their application 

Gate 1 Submission Timestamp

• Ability for NESO to capture the date and timestamp of a submission to be shared with TO's

Option Agreement Guidance

• Fixed a bug where Option agreement page section 1B and 1C guidance was showing as blank initially and then was visible after a refresh. Now the page will load with the guidance showing straight away

Form of lease question

• Changes made to the wording in the question relating to the form of lease question in 1C, providing more clarity for customers on what is required

Route to Gate 2 Readiness via DCO

• For those customers selecting Gate 2 Readiness via DCO or other planning process, they will not see the Original Red Line Boundary section as it is not needed when customers select they are going through this option.

24 July 1:00am

Mod Application

• Customers can now submit a MOD application after submitting their G2tWQ application. This was previously blocked

Option Agreement Land Rights Evidence

• Customers are now able to upload more than one document in line with the guidance provided to customers

Protection Clause 1

• Resolved the issue where warning message was appearing incorrectly when customers were uploading M2 evidence in strategic alignment

Queue Formation

• Improved the clarity of a question relating to planning applications. A warning message has also been added, informing customers that selecting "land rights obtained" will remove any previously entered information

Customer Comms for "Gate 2 Application Submission confirmation"

• Improved the messaging for customers completing their G2tWQ submission sharing the updated timescales for resubmission with the window extension

Customer Comms "Gate 1 Notification"

• Improved customer communications for customers selecting to apply for Gate 1 in their G2tWQ submission

Customer Comms for "Gate 1" or "Removal of technologies"

• Improved customer communications for customers selecting Gate 1 or requesting the removal of one or more technologies

22 July 7:36pm

Alignment fixes

• We have made several alignment fixes across the application process to improve user experience.

Modify Contract Button

• Resolved permission issue blocking customer applications from completion.

22 July - 11:47am 

Project Search 

• Customers are now able to search by their project ID and find respective applications

Project Technologies

• The navigation issue is resolved, ensuring customers are directed to the Application Confirmation page

Site boundary location information

• Displays a warning message to customers if they do not provide the value in WGS84 format to 3 decimal places

21 July - 11:53am

Red Line Boundary Warning Message

• Informing customers if they select this option, any previous information entered will be removed. Customers are able to confirm or cancel, ensuring they are making an informed decision

Alternative Planning

• For customers wishing to select the alternative planning route, this option is now available.

Queue Management Milestone M2

• Improved clarity around the question to help customers better understand and respond to related questions

Technology Types

• Improved clarity around the technology table to make the information clearer and easier for customers to understand

19 July - 12:35pm

DCO Planning

• Improved clarity around question to help customers better understand and respond during their application

Land Rights

• Improved clarity around question to help customers better understand and respond during their application

Leased Land 

• Character count now displays as expected, helping customers stay within the designated limits

18 July - 9:40am

Protections 2a Statutory Consent 

• Improved clarity around question to help customers better understand and respond during their application

Application Progress

• Removing the delete application button and application documents currently blocking a number of applications

Connections Date

• Customer is able to see correct connections date when requesting advancement

17 July 2025 - 2:15pm 

Demand Projects

• Introduced the ability to acknowledge demand projects within the technology definition section.

Strategic Alignment Warning

• Refined a warning message to alert users that changing their selection in the strategic alignment section will delete any previously entered information.

16 July 2025 - 12:00pm

Queue Formation:

• Making it clearer for customers when selecting providing evidence of meeting Queue Management Milestone M1.
• Making the label clear for evidence relating to Queue Management Milestone M1 following customer feedback.

Protections 2a, M7:

• For Protections 2a route, the M7 related question has been reworded, and updated to clearly reflect "Queue Management Milestone M7".

Project Details:

• Updated label so that it correctly shows County and not Country.
• 14 July 2025 - 5:00pm

Lease date issue:

Removed the unnecessary field for form of lease start and end date from the Option Agreements / Form of Lease section.

11 July 2025 - 5:00pm

Protections 2a:

Evidence questions were not appearing as required when customers answered 'no' to the first two connection date questions. This has been fixed. 

10 July 2025 – 11:59pm

File upload limit: 

The message incorrectly stating the file upload limit is 10MB has been removed. The limit is 99MB per file and overall submission limit is 2GB.

Missing mandatory field under queue information: 

The file upload requirement under QUEUE FORMATION has now been made mandatory to help customers avoid missing this critical step.

TEC validation: 

Some users reported issues when inputting TEC limits relating to Installed Capacity. This has been rectified.

Strategic Alignment ‘Load and Save’ issue: 

Some customers reported needing to “double save” their strategic alignment information. This has now been rectified.

8 July 2025 - 1:50pm

File upload limit

There is a 2GB file upload limit for your overall submission, with a 99MB per file limit. Until Friday 11th July the limit will state 10MB in the portal, but you will still be able to submit files up to 99MB 

8 July 2025 - 12:10pm: 

Missing Data

We are aware that some customers are experiencing issues with pre-populated data or missing projects on the portal. NESO is actively reviewing these cases and aims to provide an estimated resolution time by the end of the next working day after the issue is reported by a customer. 

Please note that, due to the unique nature of each project, resolution times may vary. We strongly encourage customers to check the portal regularly and raise any concerns as early in the process as possible to help us resolve them efficiently.