Full Commencement of the Offshore Transmission Regime

Full Commencement

Today a key milestone is marked, as the Offshore Transmission regime set up by Ofgem and DECC is “fully commenced”. This means that transmitting electricity generated in Britain’s territorial waters, including the Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), at 132kV and above, will be regulated as offshore transmission and require a transmission licence. Full Commencement also enable us to license Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO) build projects, providing another model for investment in offshore transmission. The Full Commencement Orders can be found here:

• The Energy Act 2008 (Commencement No. 6) Order 2014 No. 1461
• The Energy Act 2004 (Commencement No. 11) Order 2014 No.1460
 

Generator Commissioning Clause

The code and licence modifications implementing the Generator Commissioning Clause also come into effect today and will give greater certainty to wind farm developers that choose to build transmission systems themselves. The Clause applies within the ‘commissioning period’ and gives developers an 18 month period in which they can to lawfully test transmission systems before transferring them to an offshore transmission owner. This will reassure offshore transmission owners and investors that the developer of the transmission assets they are purchasing has had the opportunity to fully test them. Further information is available in our Generator Commissioning Clause consultations and our related decision document.

The changes in the regime will enable Ofgem to attract further investment and achieve significant savings for consumers. £1.4bn of investment has already been attracted from a variety of new sources, and £1.5bn is currently in the tender process. Developers recovering the capital invested through the tender process will be able to reinvest in future projects, promoting economic growth.