Ofgem and DESNZ announce joint Connections Action Plan
Reports, plans and updates
Publication date
Industry sector
Transmission Network
We have published our joint Ofgem and government Connections Action Plan which sets out ambitious actions to significantly reduce connection timescales and ensure a timely transition to net zero.
The Connections Action Plan can be found on the government’s website.
Projects crucial to achieving net zero, currently seeking grid connections, are facing serious connection delays. While network capacity is a significant factor in some delayed connections, the connections process requires fundamental reform to enabler quicker connections for many projects. This is what this plan addresses.
The Connections Action Plan is a call for network companies, the system operator, and the sector as a whole to deliver a major step change in the pace of connections; strengthening incentives, obligations, and requirements to do so. It also asks connections customers to be realistic and flexible in their connection requirements, and to engage on our proposals as they develop.
This plan builds upon the challenges highlighted earlier this year in our Open letter on future reform to the electricity connections process.
We have already taken action to speed up grid connections by introducing an important change in the way the connections queue is managed: CMP376: Inclusion of Queue Management process within the CUSC | Ofgem. This sends a clear message to stalled projects that they need to use their place in the connections queue or lose it: a big step towards moving away from the first-come first-served system.
The implementation of this action plan will be overseen by the new Ofgem-chaired Connections Delivery Board.
If you would like any more information, please email connections@Ofgem.gov.uk.