More than 200 energy projects previously granted protected status under the UK’s new grid connection reforms will not receive their original connection dates, Ofgem has confirmed – but the regulator has refused to waive the licence and code obligations designed to safeguard them.
In a letter to stakeholders, Ofgem said it was “frustrated and disappointed” that NESO and transmission owners (TOs) could not uphold the terms set out in the reformed Gate 2 to Whole Queue process, introduced as part of the TMO4+ reforms approved in April 2025. However, it said it would not grant the requested relief from compliance.
“At this time, Ofgem will not be granting relief from NESO/TO obligations regarding delayed dates for affected Protected Projects; we do expect the delayed connection dates due to be offered by NESO/TOs to still be as ambitious as possible,” the regulator said.
Revised offers to be issued with later dates
Ofgem said it received a formal request from NESO and TOs in October 2025, stating that if they followed the connections methodologies to the letter, they would be forced to issue Gate 2 offers with dates that were no longer achievable – including, in some cases, dates that had already passed.
Rather than issuing offers and then rapidly varying them, NESO and TOs proposed a ‘one-step’ approach: issuing revised offers up front with later – but still ambitious – connection dates and, in a small number of cases, amended connection points.
NESO and the TOs argued that this approach would avoid inefficiencies, customer confusion and added consumer costs. However, Ofgem said that without a full explanation of the causes, it could not consider granting any form of regulatory relief.
The regulator said it received a final confirmed list of affected projects on January 23, 2025 – months after first requesting the information. In total, 340 projects qualified for protected status, and 210 of these will now have their original dates and/or connection points amended.
Of those 210, Ofgem says 135 delays are linked to network issues (some also involving developer delays), while 75 are attributed to developer-side causes.
Ofgem: still no justification for missed dates
While Ofgem acknowledged that issuing revised offers may now be the only practical route forward, it reiterated that “ambitious and realistic” dates must still be offered – and stressed that licensees must continue to meet their regulatory obligations.
The regulator has stressed that it will continue investigating the causes of the delays, including whether there are wider systemic issues with queue management, forecasting, planning consents or network constraints.
It has also pointed to the new connections incentive introduced under the RIIO-ET3 price control, which will reward TOs for meeting delivery dates and penalise them for delays. Ofgem says it may also audit connection dates and revise incentive targets if it detects persistent underperformance.
While developers are now expected to engage directly with NESO and the relevant TOs on revised connection offers, Ofgem has made clear it will not tolerate vague or unachievable promises.
“We have stressed to NESO and TOs the importance of prompt connection of the affected Protected Projects and set out our expectation that dates offered are realistic and not subject to further delays,” it said.
