Following publication of the Energy White Paper 2007, Ofgem and the Department for Energy & Climate Change (DECC) have convened a joint review of the current framework for access to the GB transmission system. The review will explore a range of issues associated with the technical, commercial and regulatory arrangements, with the chief aim being to better support the delivery of the government’s aspiration of 20 percent of electricity supplied by renewable generation by 2020 and any targets that may be agreed at European Union level.
The review is timely as developers are facing increasing difficulty in connecting to the transmission system. The volume of generation wishing to connect to the transmission system is substantial and the time taken to build the required infrastructure means that renewable generation in certain parts of the country is facing severe delays in gaining access. There are areas of the system which are physically constrained as a result of the delay to reinforcement works, which has consequences for network users and consumers who ultimately pay the costs of constraining generation off the system.
The scope of the review is broad and will look at the arrangements for planning new grid infrastructure, the technical standards used to determine the need for reinforcements, the operational standards, the scope for innovation in grid operation and infrastructure and the commercial arrangements for access to the grid and system balancing.
In terms of deliverables, it is expected that an interim report on TAR will be published in December 2007, setting out recommendations for change, prior to a final report in May 2008. These will follow an initial scoping paper/Call for Evidence which will be published in August 2007. In addition we expect to publish a report in September 2007 on the work undertaken by the Short Term Access Governance (STAG) group.