• Earlier connection dates for 450 Megawatts of renewable electricity projects, enough to power around 300,000 homes, with more to come
• Some connections advanced by up to nine years
• Close cooperation between industry, Government and Ofgem set to meet the connection challenges for the future

Ofgem has announced today that they have approved National Grid’s proposals for changes to industry rules on connections, known as “Interim Connect and Manage” – a step forward in allowing generators earlier access to the transmission network.

These proposals have formed only part of National Grid’s efforts to meet the challenges from connecting renewables.  Thanks to a combination of today’s announcement and earlier initiatives, National Grid is now able to offer earlier connection dates for 450 Megawatts (MW) of renewable projects in Scotland – enough to power around 300,000 homes.  More projects are expected to be offered earlier connection dates in the coming weeks.

The changes announced mean that generators will no longer need to wait until wider system reinforcements are complete and will be able to connect as soon as local connections are ready.  National Grid will manage any occasional constraint issues this causes to the network.  The measures adapt the existing industry rules until the more fundamental changes from the Government’s Transmission Access Review come into force – hence the name “interim connect and manage.”
 
The changes have become necessary because of the huge growth in the amount of wind generated renewable energy wanting to connect from remote parts of the country like northern Scotland at the extremities of the transmission system.  These projects not only need local connection to the network, but also further reinforcements to the system to move power to where it is needed for consumers.  Both the renewable projects and the transmission infrastructure to connect them have often been subject to planning delays.

Chris Bennett, National Grid’s Future Transmission Networks Manager, said: “National Grid has a key role to play in enabling renewables to connect and through our work with Ofgem, the Government and the Scottish transmission companies, Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern, we have been able to take this important step forward.

“National Grid’s expertise, technical skill and innovative thinking are central to the measures being taken.   This move, along with other rule changes, will allow us to make the most of the existing system.  The strategic investments planned for the coming years will ensure we have the network we need for the future.”

Although the projects cannot be named, the new arrangements will bring forward the following:
• 16 projects totalling 450 MW with an average size of 23 MW each
• connection dates being advanced by between 2 to 9 years (average is 6 years)
• the biggest advance is for a project with a 2018 connection date being brought forward to 2009.

-ENDS-

For further media information only, please contact Stewart Larque, National Grid Media Relations, on 01926 655274.

Notes to editors:

Connecting up renewables – National Grid’s work summarised:

For the short term, National Grid has already delivered:
• new extremely detailed studies of the technical capability of the transmission network allowing the most to be squeezed out of the existing system in advance of planned reinforcements
• using guidance from Ofgem allowing a more pragmatic interpretation of industry rules to prioritise projects that are ready to connect rather than a strictly “first come first served” basis as was necessary before
• using further guidance from Ofgem that has allowed National Grid to consider the benefits of carbon savings from allowing early connections for renewable generators, alongside any additional “constraint costs” (the costs of managing congestion on the system), as part of the cost benefit analysis used to determine whether projects can connect in advance of planned network reinforcements

In the medium term:
• National Grid’s Interim Connect and Manage proposals adapt the existing connections regime so that generators will no longer need to wait until wider system reinforcements are complete and can connect as soon as the local connections are ready.  National Grid will manage any occasional constraints this causes on the network – hence “connect and manage”.  In parallel with the work undertaken to facilitate the earlier connection of renewables, National Grid has consulted on and proposed changes to industry rules to help reduce the overall cost of managing constraints on the transmission network

For the longer term, National Grid has:
• played a central role in developing the blueprint for the strategic investment necessary in the network that has been agreed by the Energy Networks Strategy Group, bringing together Government, Ofgem and the transmission companies
• developed the proposed industry rule changes to meet the aims of Government’s Transmission Access Review – these fundamental changes to the industry rules will replace the Interim Connect and Manage arrangements
• lobbied the UK Government on the right reforms to the planning system while the Planning Bill was under development.

National Grid
National Grid is an international electricity and gas company and one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the world. We play a vital role in delivering gas and electricity to millions of people across Great Britain and northeastern US in an efficient, reliable and safe manner. We believe the power of action can play a major role in safeguarding our global environment for future generations and tackling the effects of climate change, providing all our customers with the highest standards of service through network investment and through our talented, diverse workforce.

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