Timelines and incentives for the Offshore Hybrid Asset Pilot Scheme

Consultation details

The Offshore Hybrid Asset (OHA) Pilot Scheme establishes a regulatory framework for a new type of offshore electricity infrastructure, known as a Non-Standard Interconnector (NSI).

For the purposes of the Offshore Hybrid Asset (OHA) Pilot Scheme, an NSI is an electricity interconnector which is connected to an offshore converter station in the connecting jurisdiction, and which does not subsist for the purposes of offshore transmission activities in Great Britain. NSIs combine the transmission of offshore wind electricity in a connecting country to an electricity interconnector linking Great Britain to the electricity market in the connecting country.

In November 2024, we granted regulatory approval in principle to two NSI projects progressing through the OHA Pilot Scheme. The two projects are:

• LionLink (1.8GW to Netherlands)
• Nautilus (1.4GW to Belgium)

We are consulting on the Timelines and Incentives framework that we propose to apply to these two projects. The framework is intended to incentivise project delivery, while recognising that major infrastructure projects can experience delays arising from circumstances outside a developer’s control.

Our proposals draw on the arrangements established for projects under the Third Cap and Floor Application Window (Window 3). Given the similarities between the two NSI projects and interconnectors progressing through Window 3, we consider that the Window 3 framework provides an appropriate basis for the OHA Pilot Scheme.

The consultation covers our proposed approach to:

• the Regime Start Date (RSD)
• the Backstop Date
• the Payback Mechanism for Delays 
• the Reasonable Delay Event (RDE) mechanism
• the Pre-Operational Force Majeure (Pre-Op FM) mechanism

These arrangements are intended to provide greater regulatory certainty on project delivery timelines, strengthen developer accountability and provide appropriate mechanisms for dealing with delays that may be outside a developer’s control.

Who should respond

We welcome views from the developers of the two NSI projects and other interested stakeholders on the proposals set out in this consultation.

How to respond

Submit your response by 15 October 2026 by emailing Cap.Floor@ofgem.gov.uk.