The Connectology® Podcast by Roadnight Taylor

#79 Grid News and Views #16

Connectologists® Nikki Pillinger, Alex Ikonic, and Philip Bale examine the latest Connections Reform delays and the practical challenges developers face navigating milestones, technical limits uncertainty, and escalating project delivery costs.
Since recording, NESO published further revised timelines: Protected 2026/27 transmission offers now expected between 13 February and mid-April 2026, protected distribution between early March and end May 2026, with Phase 1 offers extending through mid-November 2026—months beyond the "few weeks" initially anticipated.
Key discussions:
Milestone complications: Developers receiving earliest possible connection dates but needing to submit Modification Applications justifying Connections Reform delays—a clunky process with over 10 times more projects in Gate 2 Phase 1 than the protected pot
Technical limits stalled: No new technical limits opportunities in Gate 2 offers except for existing customers, despite transmission schemes pushing back and smaller distribution projects being more nimble. Some DNOs reclassifying batteries accepting technical limits as "contracted demand" under ETR130 P2 clause—excluding them from network restoration without transparent guidance
Delivery cost shocks: Connection costs rising 50-60% due to inflation, with some Gate 2 variations approaching 200%. DNOs issuing scope variations and additional costs after work completed—sometimes hundreds of thousands to millions—without prior notification
Connection agreement surprises: Agreements arriving with significantly stronger terms than offers—availability restrictions, Export Network Management (ENM) requirements, vague abnormal running arrangements extending multiple grid groups beyond connection points
Recorded 04 February 2026
Our links:Website: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/Newsletter sign up: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/newsletter/Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/roadnight-taylor-ltd/Find if we fit at info@roadnighttaylor.co.uk
 

#78 DCP461 and CMP460 update

Connectologists® Kyle Murchie, Nikki Pillinger, and Philip Bale explore two modifications addressing network boundary charges—a barrier that has stifled countless projects. With both at consultation stage, developers and demand customers can shape how costs are allocated.
DCP461 has five options remaining after removing voltage-based rules. Approaches range from socialising costs through DUoS (Options 1.1/1.2), to Connection Asset Funding with or without capacity thresholds (Options 2.1/2.2), to clearer guidance on current practice (Option 3.1).
CMP460 initially considered three options before the proposer defined the proposal. The Original Proposal treats any shareable transmission asset at the network boundary as infrastructure, passing associated costs onto Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charges. There is still time for alternatives to be raised with the consultation responses key, informing Working Group Members and triggering action.
The conversation explores how different options balance developer certainty, customer impact, and fairness—with particular focus on how identical projects face vastly different costs depending on substation classification, and how to prevent smaller customers being exposed to prohibitive SGT charges.
CMP460 consultation closes 18 February 2026; DCP461 opens second week of February for three weeks. The Connectologists® encourage responses—either directly or through trade bodies.
Read more:
DCP461: https://statics.teams.cdn.office.net/evergreen-assets/safelinks/2/atp-safelinks.html
CMP460: https://www.neso.energy/industry-information/codes/cusc/modifications/cmp460-improving-transmission-connection-asset-charging
 
Recorded 04 February 2026
 
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#77 Reviewing Gate 2 offers

Connectologists® Pete Aston, Kyle Murchie, and Alex Ikonic explore the mounting pressures developers face as Gate 2 offers arrive. Transmission offers have three months to accept but queries must be submitted within four weeks. Distribution offers are expected to have about four weeks, though this may vary between DNOs. Securities are due approximately 30 days after acceptance.
The key challenges developers are facing:
Understanding what's changing: Is this a variation or effectively a new offer? Templates may have changed since 2022, milestones will have changed, and costs could reflect framework price updates, solution changes, or inflation
Point of connection shifts: GSP connections may move to existing substations (potentially further away, more costly, or under ANM). Transmission nodal names should see firmer locations, though later projects (2030+) could look quite different
Cost escalation: Transmission connections have seen 50-60-90% level of increases
Timescale realism: 18 months minimum required to start compliance. Five to seven years from acceptance at a general pace was standard—some current timelines appear significantly compressed
Information gaps: Without transmission works registers and published TO reports, developers cannot sense-check offers or identify coordination opportunities
The Mod App bottleneck: The gated process takes about nine months end to end—pushing everything out by approximately a year
Critical next step: Don't put accepted offers "on the shelf"—immediately engage to confirm design progression, payment requirements, and where projects sit in TO gating windows.
We understand the complexity of grid connection challenges, and the Connectologists® hope these insights help developers navigate Gate 2 with greater clarity.
Recorded: 12 November 2025
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#76 Addressing Connection Uncertainty – Part 2 – with Graham Pannell, BayWa r.e.

Welcome back to Part 2, where Connectologists® Catherine Cleary and Kyle Murchie continue their conversation with Graham Pannell from BayWa r.e, examining GB's constraint management crisis.
Graham explains how GB currently relies almost entirely on the Balancing Mechanism for constraints—leaving nothing to long-term planning or day-ahead signals. Using a golf analogy, he argues effective market design needs different tools for different timeframes:
Strategic planning (the driver for distance)
Flexibility markets (the fairway iron for adjustment)
Balancing Mechanism (the putter for final corrections)
Currently, GB is "in a bunker using only a putter."
The constraint cost reality: £3 billion in annual costs on the Scotland-England boundary could be addressed by infrastructure costing £0.27 billion annualised. Every pound invested in major grid delivery saves ten.
Graham highlights the political challenge: major infrastructure won't arrive until after the next election. The industry needs demonstrable shorter-term constraint reduction to maintain momentum toward clean power goals.
Listen to Part 1 here: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/connectology/podcasts/podcast-connection-uncertainty-graham-pannell-1/
Date Recorded 28th November 2025
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#75 The Demand Connection Conundrum - Part 4 with David Wildash, Chief Strategy Officer, Apatura

In the final episode of The Demand Connection Conundrum series, Connectologist® Pete Aston and colleague Philip Bale speak with David Wildash, Chief Strategy Officer at Apatura, exploring how strategic demand placement in Scotland could unlock a £45 billion market opportunity while reducing curtailment costs for all consumers.
The core opportunity: Apatura is developing 2.3GW of data centre demand in Scotland's central belt, positioning major loads where excess renewables exist—benefiting the system and end consumers.
Key Issues
Generation-demand inequity – After 15-20 years of de-industrialization, the UK system lacks frameworks for connecting major industrial loads at transmission level
Global competition – Capital flows to locations offering quick, resilient, cost-effective connections; UK risks losing to Europe
Bay scarcity – Transmission substations filled by generation connections
SQSS rigidity – Three-bay requirement above 300-350MW when dual bays could suffice for data centres with backup systems
Electricity Act ambiguity – Unclear whether transformers constitute transmission assets
David's Solutions
Transformer classification clarity – In Scotland, TOs build to isolators; generators own transformers. Simply moving where isolators and transformers sit could enable demand connections—if transformers aren't classified as transmission assets.
Co-location questions – When pairing BESS (with generation license) and demand, does the generation license enable transmission ownership?
Demand license regime – Replicate generation license framework, provided grid code evolves appropriately
SQSS flexibility – Industrial customers with UPS and backup generation shouldn't face same security standards as domestic supply
Strategic placement – Locating demand where renewables exist reduces curtailment costs—"a slam dunk from a system operator perspective"
David's six-month goal: Electricity Act clarity on transmission asset definitions—the quickest unlock requiring no primary legislation.
 
Listen to the full series:
📌 Part 1 - Pete Aston's Series Introduction: https://youtu.be/8x3yP-kGF60?si=QnytC6Yh-d3HgVzh
📌 Part 2 - Ryan Adams (Innova): https://youtu.be/bT-FbWY5FpA?si=Rn-ZWNMokyF13eHQ
📌 Part 3 - Spencer Thompson (Eclipse): https://youtu.be/-tMo5Z99jqs?si=yj9fYFg5tTJAWIuz
 
Recorded 13th November 2025
 
Our links:
Website: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/
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#74 The Demand Connection Conundrum - Part 3 with Spencer Thompson, CEO, Eclipse Power

In this episode, Part 3 of a 4-part series, Connectologist® Pete Aston and colleague Alex Ikonic speak with Spencer Thompson, CEO of Eclipse Power Limited, exploring innovative solutions to transmission-level demand connection challenges.
The core challenge: Data centres need three to four-year connection timelines but, unlike renewables, they're competing directly with Europe for investment—making UK speed critical.
Key Issues
UK competitiveness crisis – Data centres can choose European locations if UK proves too slow
Location paradox – Need London/M4 corridor proximity for latency, but grid capacity there is scarcest
TO inconsistency – NGET doesn't build out to sites; Scottish TOs do
BCA limitations – One legal entity per agreement complicates hybrid projects
Leadership vacuum – Unclear who owns decisions between Ofgem, DESNZ, and NESO
Three Pathways Forward
Case-by-case exemptions for minimal transmission asset projects
Independent Transmission Operator licenses for "last mile" connections
Demand license regime mirroring generation licenses, particularly for hyperscalers
Spencer's six-month goal: industry consensus on multiple connection pathways with clear governmental leadership, applying the urgency demonstrated in Connections Reform.
Listen to the full series:
📌 Part 1 - Pete Aston's Series Introduction: https://youtu.be/8x3yP-kGF60?si=QnytC6Yh-d3HgVzh
📌 Part 2 - Ryan Adams (Innova): https://youtu.be/bT-FbWY5FpA?si=Rn-ZWNMokyF13eHQ
📌 Part 4 - David Wildash (Apatura): https://youtu.be/GYIA569aZ7A?si=RAuvp7O5h7h77iDi
 
Recorded 13th November 2025
 
Our links:
Website: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/
 Newsletter sign up: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/newsletter/
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#73 The Demand Connection Conundrum - Part 2 with Ryan Adams, Managing Director, Innova

In this episode, Part 2 of a 4-part series on The Demand Connection Conundrum, Connectologist® Pete Aston and colleague Kyle Murchie speak with Ryan Adams, Managing Director at Innova, exploring the regulatory barriers preventing hyperscale demand projects—particularly data centres—from connecting efficiently to the transmission network.
The fundamental problem: Demand customers cannot own transmission assets, forcing National Grid to build costly step-down infrastructure that consumes scarce substation space desperately needed for clean power connections.
Key Issues Discussed:
No demand license regime – Unlike generators, demand customers have no regulatory framework to own transmission assets
Massive space inefficiency – Data centres requiring step-down infrastructure consume up to 10x more substation space than direct high-voltage connections
Hybrid project uncertainty – CP30-protected renewables paired with data centres stuck in limbo due to conflicting connection agreement requirements
Geographic inconsistency – Scottish TOs build networks to customer sites; NGET doesn't
Investor confidence erosion – Overlapping policy uncertainties (AI Growth Zones, Strategic Spatial Energy Plan, demand queue curation) make infrastructure investment decisions impossible
Queue curation paradox – Hyperscalers won't commit without connection certainty, but projects can't demonstrate viability without hyperscaler partnerships
 
Ryan's Three Solutions:
Immediate – Ofgem issues clarification letter on Electricity Act interpretation (potentially early 2025)
Near-term – NGET adopts Scottish model, building transmission to customer sites
Strategic – Create demand license regime mirroring generation licenses
 
Ryan emphasizes growing momentum across DESNZ, Ofgem, and NESO, but stresses the need for bold leadership before Gate 2 offers "bake in" current inefficiencies. His six-month goal: either the Ofgem letter or NGET's commitment to build out—both "absolutely doable."
Make sure to listen to Parts 3 and 4 with Spencer Thompson (Eclipse) and David Wildash (Apatura) to explore these issues from different industry perspectives and hear the complete picture of this critical infrastructure challenge.
 
Listen to the full series:
📌 Part 1 - Pete Aston's Series Introduction: https://youtu.be/8x3yP-kGF60?si=QnytC6Yh-d3HgVzh
📌 Part 3 - Spencer Thompson (Eclipse): https://youtu.be/-tMo5Z99jqs?si=yj9fYFg5tTJAWIuz
📌 Part 4 - David Wildash (Apatura): https://youtu.be/GYIA569aZ7A?si=RAuvp7O5h7h77iDi
 
Recorded 13th November 2025
 
Our links:
Website: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/
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#72 The Demand Connection Conundrum - Part 1

In this episode, Part 1 of The Demand Connection Conundrum series, Connectologist® Pete Aston synthesizes what's to come in Parts 2, 3, and 4—conversations with Ryan Adams (Innova), Spencer Thompson (Eclipse), and David Wildash (Apatura)—exploring critical barriers facing hyperscale demand projects, particularly data centres, attempting to connect to the transmission network.
The core challenge: Demand projects cannot own transmission assets, creating fundamental obstacles as GB competes globally for investment in data centres and other large-scale infrastructure.
Key Issues Identified
Regulatory ambiguity around the Electricity Act's definition of transmission networks ("wholly or mainly of high voltage assets")
Geographic inconsistency: Scottish transmission owners build networks out to customer sites; NGET in England and Wales historically hasn't
Hybrid project uncertainty: unclear whether large demand sites can share connection points with generation technologies
Network security questions: SQSS requirements for 500MW+ demand sites need clarification
Leadership vacuum: risk this critical issue falls between DESNZ, Ofgem, and NESO
Competitive urgency: policy delays threaten GB's ability to attract hyperscale investment globally
Potential Solutions
Near-term (early 2025): Ofgem could issue interpretive guidance on transmission network definitions
Operational: NGET could adopt the Scottish model of building networks out to customer sites
Legislative (longer timeframe): Create a demand license analogous to generation licenses
Make sure to tune in to the three episodes to explore these issues and solutions in more detail, and to hear the different perspectives on these challenges.
Listen to the full series:
📌 Part 2 - Ryan Adams (Innova): https://youtu.be/bT-FbWY5FpA?si=Rn-ZWNMokyF13eHQ
📌 Part 3 - Spencer Thompson (Eclipse): https://youtu.be/-tMo5Z99jqs?si=yj9fYFg5tTJAWIuz
📌 Part 4 - David Wildash (Apatura): https://youtu.be/GYIA569aZ7A?si=RAuvp7O5h7h77iDi
 
Recorded 13th November 2025
 
Our links: Website: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/
 Newsletter sign up: https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/newsletter/
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#71 Battery Storage Market Realities with Ed Porter, Modo Energy

In this episode of the Connectology® podcast, Connectologist® Catherine Cleary speaks with Ed Porter from Modo Energy about where battery storage stands today and what's ahead for developers and investors.
Key topics:
Market maturation – Batteries have moved beyond saturated frequency response into wholesale trading, attracting utilities and institutional investors with serious capital.
Subsidy reality – Batteries account for just 0.5% of UK energy subsidies since 2014 yet deliver strong consumer cost benefits.
Gate 2 challenges – Not all “protected” projects will progress. Oversupplied regions face long connection dates, delayed offers disrupt 2026–27 timelines, and unfrozen liabilities create major risks—especially for hybrid and demand-led sites.
Forecasting gap – Clean Power 2030 targets 27GW by 2030, but Modo’s market-led modelling points closer to 55GW long term, highlighting why flexibility matters more than fixed forecasts.
Grid-forming reality check – Stability services pay ~£10k/MW/year versus £80–90k/MW needed for viability. Grid-forming should enable higher renewables and reduced gas use—not stand-alone business cases.
Falling costs: the game-changer – A 20–30% drop in upfront costs over the last 18 months has transformed battery economics, outweighing most revenue-side changes.
Smarter dispatch (GC0166) – Batteries can now report available energy directly, enabling more efficient and flexible system operation.
Our links:
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#70 Holding networks to account with Alasdair MacMillan, Head of Policy - Electricity Connections, Ofgem

Ofgem's Connections End-to-End Review: Standards, Accountability, and the Path Forward 
Connectologist® Kyle Murchie speaks with Alasdair MacMillan from Ofgem about the connections end-to-end review, examining the entire customer journey from feasibility through energisation and beyond. 
Ofgem's review (published December 2025) addresses increased standards of service and timely connection delivery. The document contains immediate decisions moving into implementation and proposals for consultation (open until 27 February 2026). 
Key elements: 
Demand capacity register: Developers gain visibility of demand in specific areas, helping them understand available capacity and make informed decisions 
Journey milestones: Proposed new requirements beyond time-to-quote obligations, with GSOP-style penalties or licence-based enforcement if missed—focused on prevention through transparency 
Accountability for missed dates: Extending GSOPs to transmission with transparent industry-wide reporting. Also explores liquidated damages (currently set at zero) 
Connection date ranges: Developers receive ranges with ambitious front-end dates (potentially rewarded) and backstop dates (with penalties). Ranges narrow as uncertainty reduces 
Quality of offers: With Gate 2 approaching, ensuring offers are clear and understandable. Alasdair urges networks: act now, don't wait for formal requirements 
Your consultation response, backed by evidence and specific examples, helps Ofgem understand where regulatory intervention can prove most effective. Whether you're a developer, network company, or industry stakeholder, your insight matters. Consultation closes 27 February 2026. 
View the Connections end-to-end review: updated proposals and next steps here:  
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/consultation/connections-end-end-review-updated-proposals-and-next-steps 
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