Electricity networks announce three-step plan to speed up connections

Electricity networks have launched a new three-step action plan to speed up grid connections through a combination of queue management, flexible connections and coordination between transmission and distribution.

The announcement comes amid mounting frustration over their inability to provide timely connections to the power grid following a surge in requests. Regen chief executive Merlin Hyman recently told MPs that new solar and storage projects are now facing waits of 15 years or more in many parts of the country.

The Energy Networks Association (ENA) said nearly 50GW of renewable energy projects have been connected since the UK’s first wind farm came online in 1992. Spurred by the government’s net zero target, the trade body said there has been a “boom” in requests recently, with electricity networks receiving 164GW of fresh requests between October 2021 and September 2022.

The ENA said the current “first-come, first-served” connections model was designed during a time when there were far fewer projects with a much higher degree of certainty over their progression. It said this model is “not adequately equipped to deal with the current reality that many project developers must submit applications as they await final planning and investment decisions”.

These arrangements give “the impression of connection demand which may not exist,” with stalled projects early in the connection queue creating a “traffic jam” for later projects that are ready to connect.

The ENA said electricity networks are therefore taking three immediate actions to deliver “quick win” changes to the connections process:

Reforming distribution connection queue management

• First ready, first connected – Projects that reach agreed milestones will be prioritised for connection if there is no detrimental impact on other projects ahead of them in the queue.
• Spring clean – Connection offers made before 2017, when new progression milestones were introduced to help networks manage and order connections, will be reviewed. Stalled projects will either be given progression milestones or removed from the queue.

Co-ordinating transmission and distribution connections

Connections to distribution networks are often dependent on reinforcement of transmission network. “All network companies are facing similar challenges leading to long lead times to connect into different grids, but if we can minimise these dependencies, some of these customer projects could theoretically be connected in months,” the ENA stated.

• Clear and consistent boundaries – Distribution network operators and the electricity system operator (ESO) will work together to manage connections within agreed technical limits at each boundary point between the transmission and distribution networks. The ENA said distribution customers have unanimously expressed a desire to connect early, even if this means they are subject to curtailment.
• Co-ordinating the queue – A coordinated approach to queue management will be implemented for small-scale generation and battery storage which is dependent on both transmission and distribution capacity.

Flexible connections for storage

The ENA said the volume of battery storage projects seeking connections has massively exceeded forecasts, with more than 56GW now contracted and queued to connect to networks.

By their nature, batteries’ utilisation of the power grid is highly variable as they switch between importing, storing and exporting electricity depending on prices. Nevertheless, the ENA said most project request firm network connections, making this capacity unavailable to other customers despite much of it going unused.

• Flex capacity – Storage operators will be offered standardised non-firm connections that allow networks to connect them more quickly while also improving networks’ ability to manage that capacity and make it available to other customers when it is not being utilised. Networks will also update standards and codes that are currently limiting their ability to manage capacity allocated to storage.

The ENA said networks will begin implementing the first actions in May/June and the last two in July.

David Boyer, director of electricity systems at the ENA, said: “The changes we’ve announced today will go a long way to speeding up connections, but more fundamental changes will be needed.

“Through the regulatory regime, we need to overhaul how connections are managed and enable networks to invest in capacity early. This early investment is crucial if we are to power millions of electric vehicles and heat pumps and connect the massive amounts of renewables and batteries we know are needed in the coming decade.”

The ENA said the actions will complement the five-step plan for speeding up connections announced by National Grid ESO in March. The latter included an extension until April of the amnesty for stalled projects on the Transmission Entry Capacity register, which the ESO launched in September last year.

The ESO told Utility Week in February that the amnesty had identified 5.5GW of stalled projects but a member of the body’s executive committee subsequently admitted to MPs that uptake had been lower than expected.

At the beginning of March, the ESO received approval from Ofgem to introduce an interim two-stage process for offering transmission connections in England and Wales.

Writing in Utility Week recently, National Grid chief strategy and external affairs director, Ben Wilson, claimed connections are being slowed down by a “penny-wise and pound-foolish” regulatory regime that holds back anticipatory investment.