Ofgem has set out wide-ranging plans to accelerate grid connections, cautioning transmission and distribution companies that they will be held to demanding performance targets or risk financial sanctions.

An update to its ‘connections end to end’ review published today outlines stronger licence obligations, new penalties and firmer enforcement aimed at eliminating unacceptable holdups that have left developers facing sunk costs and lost revenues running into the tens of millions of pounds.

The new regime for transmission and distribution network operators will be developed in 2026. It is intended to cut delays for ready-to-build clean power projects, large-scale storage, smaller connections for electric vehicles and low‑carbon heating, and new demand from energy‑intensive users including industry, housing and data centres.

While record volumes are connecting, many approved schemes remain stuck awaiting access. Ofgem said today’s package is the next step in overhauling the system, following the National Energy System Operator’s (NESO) announcement that a pipeline of deliverable, ready‑to‑go projects will be prioritised for connection.

The proposals underpin Ofgem’s five‑year settlement announced on 4 December 2025, which aims to unlock up to £90bn of investment in the transmission network to upgrade power and gas grids and build a future‑ready system that better insulates consumers from volatile energy bills.

-- Advertisement --

The end‑to‑end review assessed each stage of the connections process across Great Britain’s three high‑voltage transmission operators and six distribution operators. It found some developers face delays of several years beyond their original offers, with major projects reporting losses in the tens of millions, others seeing costs rise by up to 200%, and some schemes cancelled due to supply‑chain and investment bottlenecks caused by delays.

The review highlights the need to overhaul existing penalty arrangements, noting that DNOs face limited penalties for missed connection dates while transmission companies face none—an “asymmetry of risk” that leaves developers carrying heavy costs while networks face minimal consequences.

Ofgem proposes to standardise processes, enforce deadlines and introduce tougher sanctions if operators fall short. Plans include enforceable standards set through licence conditions, penalties for missing tightened milestones and delivery dates, significantly higher compensation for delayed projects, and mandatory publication of real‑time data on grid capacity, constraints and queue positions to help developers plan and avoid bottlenecks.

Director General for Infrastructure, Akshay Kaul, said: “With major delays impacting billions of pounds of potential infrastructure projects and limiting the success of our wider clean power ambitions, it was clear that the regulations that underpin the connections system needed to be reviewed urgently.

“The connections queue has now been reduced by nearly two thirds, ensuring that the projects in the queue are those that are needed to deliver the Government’s ambitious net zero plans. The days where hundreds of unviable projects would sit in the queue with no consequences are over. Instead, the right projects will be built in the right place and at the right time.

“But we must go further, which is why we’ve carried out a root-and-branch assessment of the entire system. Britain’s energy transition depends on networks delivering connections on time, so network operators must be accountable for any failure to get clean power plugged into the grid. We must ensure that customers seeking to connect these projects that the country needs for clean power and economic growth receive the standards of service that enable speedy connections, so that consumers see the benefits quicker.”

The consultation is open until 27 February 2026.