Connections Reform

Improving customer connections

Making sure that generation and demand schemes can connect to our network in a safe and timely manner is one of our primary responsibilities as the owner of the transmission network in the north of Scotland. We have a huge job to do over the coming years to make sure that our network is capable of connecting the growing onshore and offshore renewable power helping to meet Scotland and the UK’s net zero targets and securing our future energy by using affordable, home-grown, low carbon electricity.

Changing energy landscape

Grid connections applications have continued to grow in the past year, with the current connections queue standing at over 750GW, far in excess of what is required for the energy system in 2030, or even 2050. The size of the queue has meant that developers are waiting too long to connect to the grid, and this is hindering efforts to achieve net zero goals. As a result, NESO has been progressing development and approval for a new connections process (TMO4+) to address these challenges and speed up connections.  

In January 2025, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) introduced a temporary pause in connection applications. This pause aims to deliver a stable foundation for implementing its new connections process, subject to Ofgem approval. It will allow customers time to have a signed offer in place when the implementation stage of the process begins. Consequently, new connection applications are not being accepted at present. Visit NESO’s Transition to Connections Reform for further information, and learn more about the pause in applications in NESO’s FAQ document. 

As Connections Reform continues to progress in the coming months, this page will be updated to keep our customers informed of new developments.