Connecting to the grid has to work for investment, not hold it back

For businesses looking to invest in Britain's energy future, certainty matters. Whether you're building clean power generation, expanding manufacturing, developing data centres or supporting economic growth, access to the national electricity network can be the difference between investment moving ahead or being delayed.

That is why grid connections reform matters.

For too long, a place in the connections queue did not mean a realistic path to connecting.  Ready-to-build projects found themselves waiting behind schemes making little or no progress. At its peak, the connections queue was around four times larger than Britain needed to meet its 2030 energy needs.

The objective of connections reform is simple. To create a process that prioritises projects that are ready to deliver and aligned with Britain's energy policy objectives, while giving investors greater confidence about what can realistically be built and when.

That work is now well underway. NESO has issued offers to more than 60% of the projects needed to deliver Britain's 2030 energy ambitions, bringing greater clarity to developers and transforming the system from an overloaded queue to deliverable pipeline. By autumn, all projects required for 2030 will have received offers, with projects needed for 2035 following thereafter.

Delivering reform at this scale has not been easy. It is complex and just as challenging as we envisaged. We recognise the impact it has had on customers and the significance of decisions affecting thousands of projects and billions of pounds of potential investment. But maintaining a queue that could never realistically be delivered would not have served consumers, investors or the wider economy.

This is not a challenge unique to Great Britain. Electricity systems globally are grappling with the same issues as new sources of clean generation, storage and demand seek to connect at unprecedented pace. We are actively sharing lessons with international counterparts as countries consider how best to modernise processes designed to meet the respective future needs of their economies. 

Our work will continue. We will open further opportunities for projects that support Britain's future energy needs, while continuing to improve how customers experience the connections process. Industry's message to us has been clear. Deliver the current reforms well, thoroughly test what comes next and provide greater transparency and certainty throughout.

But success depends on the whole sector. Government sets the policy direction, Ofgem approves the regulatory framework, network companies design and deliver the infrastructure and NESO operates the process. Together, we are creating a connections system that better supports investment, growth and energy security.

If Britain wants the jobs, infrastructure and economic opportunities that come with a modern energy system, the connections queue cannot simply be a waiting list. It must be a route to delivery.