Connections reform under scrutiny: Ofgem’s assessment of progress and what comes next

Ofgem's recent assessment of the National Energy System Operator (NESO) has reignited debate over the pace and effectiveness of Great Britain's electricity connections' reform programme.

In its September 2026 end-of-period assessment of NESO's performance against its eight Business Plan 3 (BP3) objectives for the period from April 2025 to March 2026, Ofgem concluded that Connections Reform was the only objective that was neither delivered nor progressed sufficiently to meet expectations. The regulator highlighted missed deadlines, inaccurate connection offers, unclear prioritisation, inconsistent customer engagement and significantly negative stakeholder feedback.

The findings are significant. However, they should be viewed in the context of one of the most ambitious reforms of Great Britain's electricity connections' regime in decades, and one which remains central to the government's Clean Power 2030 agenda.

Connections' reform so far

Despite Ofgem's criticism, substantial progress has already been made. In April 2026, DESNZ and Ofgem reported that around 221GW of projects had been removed from the main grid connections' queue because they were no longer progressing or were not required to meet projected system needs. They also noted that sufficient capacity remained within the prioritised queue to meet the ranges identified in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan across most technologies.

In its response to Ofgem's assessment, published on 2 September 2026, NESO stated that the connections' queue has now been reformed, a revised and deliverable implementation timetable is in place, and connection offers are being issued against updated milestones.

While views differ on the success of the implementation process, the reform programme has fundamentally reshaped the queue and established a new framework for allocating network capacity.

From design to implementation

Earlier this year, Ofgem acknowledged delays arising from data quality issues within historic connection agreements and the need for NESO and network operators to revisit network studies and planning assumptions. In February 2026, NESO and network companies revised the original delivery timetable for connection offers, thus extending the period of uncertainty for many developers and investors.

Perhaps the most contentious issue concerned projects that had received "protected" status under the transition arrangements. A number of 'protected projects' did not retain their original connection date.

The revised timetable means that some Gate 2 connection offers will continue to be issued into early 2027. Although a pathway exists for projects that are not currently within the prioritised queue to reapply through future Gated Application windows, there is currently no certainty on the date for the next window.

The growing importance of the SSEP

The SSEP is intended to provide a whole-system view of where generation, storage, network infrastructure and demand should be located across Great Britain, helping to guide future investment and connection decisions.

A significant milestone was reached on 28 August 2026 when NESO submitted its Pathway Options Report to the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments. The report sets out six potential pathways for Great Britain's future energy system. The UK Energy Secretary will now consider those options before selecting a preferred pathway that will inform development of the final SSEP.

NESO has placed considerable emphasis on transparency throughout the process, including publishing updates regarding the modelling assumptions, methodologies and datasets used to develop the SSEP. This reflects a clear desire to ensure that stakeholders have confidence in the evidence base underpinning future strategic planning decisions.

What comes next for connections' reform?

Alongside the development of the SSEP, Ofgem continues to progress its broader "end-to-end" review of the connections' process, focused on improving service standards, governance, transparency and data quality.

The implementation of updated connections methodologies also remains an important area to watch. In June 2026, NESO consulted on updates to the connections' methodologies, while Ofgem has separately consulted on demand connections' reform. You can find further information on this here.

NESO's immediate priorities are: issuance of the outstanding Gate 2 offers, implementation of the updated connections' methodologies that are currently under regulatory review, and embedding the reformed regime across the industry.

Ofgem's findings reflect the challenges associated with implementing a fundamental restructuring of the connections' regime. While delivery has fallen short of expectations in several respects, the direction of travel remains unchanged: a smaller and more strategically aligned connections' queue, supported by strategic planning initiatives such as the SSEP and designed to prioritise projects that are both ready and needed.