A slowdown in the number of projects registering for a grid connection is a blip due to the introduction of a two-step process for vetting such applications, the Electricity System Operator (ESO) has said. Former energy minister Graham Stuart recently confirmed that data from the ESO shows that 1,530 energy projects were in the transmission connection queue at the end of February. The ESO recently told Utility Week that the number of projects in the Transmission Entry Capacity (TEC) register had increased by just four. However an ESO spokesperson said the key factor behind the slow growth in the queue over the last month is that the ESO is focusing on processing second-stage applications under the two-step grid connection process.