NESO seeks more time for complex Gate 2 connection offers
NESO has requested an extension for remaining complex connection offers, raising timing questions for businesses involved in affected projects.
Published
The National Energy System Operator has asked Ofgem for more time to issue remaining connection offers under Phase 1 of the Gate 2 programme, according to Solar Power Portal. The request concerns more complex transmission-connected projects, with NESO warning that developers facing tighter time pressures would be most affected.
What NESO has requested
Solar Power Portal reported on October 2 that NESO had sought to move the deadline for the remaining offers from 30 September to 31 October. The operator expected the extension to affect around 10% of the total number of projects receiving offers under this phase.
The request was set out in a public letter from NESO director of connections Colm Murphy to Ofgem head of electricity connections Neal McLaughlin. According to the report, Murphy described the affected schemes as the more complex transmission-connected projects.
NESO said the delays would have a mixed impact on developers, with greater consequences for those facing more time-critical circumstances. It was not requesting changes to other dates and deadlines associated with the Gate 2 process.
Capacity impact remains unspecified
According to the report, NESO said it had already issued around three-quarters of the connection offers needed to meet the government’s Clean Power 2030 capacity deployment targets. However, Murphy’s letter did not specify how much capacity was represented by the projects covered by the extension request.
The project-count estimate therefore should not be treated as a measure of the generating capacity affected. The source identifies the scope of the request but does not provide a capacity breakdown for those remaining complex offers.
Solar Power Portal said Ofgem had not publicly responded at the time of publication. The requested deadline should consequently be distinguished from an approved extension: the supplied report does not confirm the regulator’s subsequent decision.
What it means for businesses
For businesses involved in an affected transmission-connected solar project, the immediate issue is the timing of the connection offer. NESO’s warning about time-critical developments makes this particularly relevant where project plans depend on receiving that offer.
The scope matters for other commercial solar buyers too. This report concerns a defined group of complex transmission-connected schemes, not a stated change to every commercial rooftop connection. It provides no basis for assuming that an individual business, school or landlord’s installation faces the same delay, or that other Gate 2 deadlines have changed.
Sources
- NESO asks Ofgem for one-month extension to issue Gate 2 offers (solarpowerportal.co.uk)
This story summarises the sources above for UK businesses. Check the original sources and get site-specific advice before making decisions.