The Connectology® Podcast by Roadnight Taylor

#84 Grid News and Views 18 - Part 2

Kyle Murchie, Nikki Pillinger, and Rachael Eynon return for Part 2 of GNV18, covering Ofgem's end-to-end review progress and the rapidly evolving demand connections landscape. 
Ofgem's end-to-end review: working groups are already delivering, with DNOs and NESO committed to publishing registers of accepted demand connections from one megawatt and above 
Guaranteed connection dates: Nikki notes DNOs are open to the concept but timing must link to meaningful developer milestones — financial investment decision, contractor appointment, or construction planning — not offer stage 
Data transparency: SSEN and UKPN have improved demand data tools, now separating BESS and non-BESS demand at substation level 
Demand queue growth: the combined transmission and distribution queue grew from approximately 42 gigawatts to around 125 gigawatts between summer 2024 and summer 2025, driven by AI data centres, hydrogen, and industrial decarbonisation 
Information Request Notice: a mandatory NESO request targeting Gate 1 and Gate 2 demand customers requiring detailed project progress and financial information — closed on the 13 April 2026, with concerns raised about response quality given tight timescales 
DESNZ strategic demand consultation: running in parallel with responses due 15 April 2026, exploring enhanced queue readiness requirements, a strategic demand project designation process, and potential regional targets for data centre placement 
Recorded: 07 April 2026 
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#83 Grid News and Views 18 - Part 1

In Part 1 of Grid News and Views 18, Connectologists® Kyle Murchie, Nikki Pillinger, and Rachael Eynon cover the latest Gate 2 offer progress, the methodology consultation's most pressing areas, and emerging repowering challenges.  
Gate 2 transmission offers: Progress on protected offers had reached 80% issued as of late last week, though whether that figure covers transmission and distribution remains unclear. Protected 2026/27 distribution offers are still expected before end of May 
Offer quality: Some offers are missing key appendices and Gate 1 offers have contained inaccurate statements — worth checking before signing. SSEN Transmission has proposed a pre-offer information call to help developers sense-check their offer ahead of receipt 
Methodology consultation: Deadline extended to the 21st. Key question: whether protections clauses 3A and 3B should be disapplied for batteries due to oversupply — though Nikki cautions this is premature given unknown acceptance rates and market forces 
Capacity reallocation: Capacity freed by departing projects goes to existing queue participants in the first instance, not new applicants  
Repowering: Clear policy needed for older distribution-connected sites. Questions remain around impact to queue position, and what would be deemed a technology change. Regen's recent paper on repowering wind is worth a read 
Since recording, the NESO has published updated figures confirming 88% of Gate 2 protected offers have now been issued, with fewer than ten TOCOs outstanding per Transmission Owner. NESO has also issued more than 1,000 Gate 1 offers. Transmission offers remain on track for mid-April and distribution offers for mid-May. A cross-industry dashboard led by the ENA will shortly provide a consistent view of progress across transmission and distribution. 
Recorded: 07 April 2026 
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#82 Connections Reform from a NGET perspective - with John Twomey, NGET

Pete Aston is joined by John Twomey, Director of Customer and Network Development at National Grid Electricity Transmission, to explore where Connection Reform stands and what developers can expect as the engineering phase gets underway. 
Connection Reform has entered execution mode - system studies are now underway, with transparency, customer-centricity, and contract quality as the three priorities shaping Gate 2 offers 
Connection dates will be ambitious but deliverable - assessments draw on project critical paths, system access windows, and direct customer input on risk appetite, with deferral conversations already happening where needed 
Battery oversubscription is a significant challenge — NGET needs around 10GW of battery connections by 2035, yet over 40GW of batteries will receive a Gate 2 offer, with pressure falling on substation bays rather than wider network reinforcement 
Bay sharing is emerging as a key solution — two or more customers sharing a single substation bay is being actively assessed across both legacy and new-build substations before offers go out to customers 
Attrition will open optimisation opportunities — as offers go unaccepted, options emerge for projects further back in the queue, with customers engaged individually before any contract changes are made 
NGET is scaling significantly — a new five-year price control with Ofgem covers around £35billion of investment, backed by a new regional supply chain framework designed to accelerate delivery 
Recorded: 26 March 2026 
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#81 Transmission licence exemption for demand

Connectologist® Pete Aston is joined by colleagues Alex Ikonic and Catherine Cleary to discuss Ofgem's Call for Input on demand connections reform — focusing on the legal ambiguity preventing demand customers from owning high-voltage transmission assets. 
Key discussion points: 
The disparity: generators can own 400 kV assets; demand customers in England and Wales cannot — restricting engineering flexibility for large projects 
Energy parks at risk: hybrid projects with a “Grid Co” owning shared assets may inadvertently require a transmission licence 
Roadnight Taylor's proposal: a Class Exemption for sole-use assets — automatic, no application, no ongoing adjudication 
Gate 2 implications: realistic implementation likely for Phase 2 (2031+) projects 
Ofgem's Call for Input closes 13 March 2026
Recorded: 04 March 2026 
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#80 Grid News and Views #17

Connectologists® Catherine Cleary and Kyle Murchie are joined by Rachael Eynon in her first episode as a Connectologist®, covering the key grid connection developments of February 2026. 
The headline topic is Ofgem's call for input on Demand Reform, closing 13 March. The combined transmission and distribution demand queue reached around 42GW in summer 2024 before rising to roughly 125GW, prompting a pause on new transmission applications. Ofgem's response introduces three pillars: 
CURATE - additional financial mechanisms and readiness criteria to filter the Gate 2 demand queue 
PLAN - implement a strategic plan for data centres and support existing prioritisation services 
CONNECT - exploring asset ownership boundaries, , and whether large demand customers should be able to build higher-voltage assets as generators do 
Roadnight Taylor is drafting a proposal for a potential change to licence exemptions under the Electricity Act on asset ownership and will publish insights ahead of the 13 March call for input deadline. 
The episode also covers: 
Transmission delays — 62% of projects with 2026/27 dates are now expected to be delayed, with calls for greater transparency on reinforcement timelines 
Gate 2 offers — Phase 1 CPAs have been agreed with the TOs; Phase 2 CPAs are targeted for issue soon 
Staged connections — concern that projects with multiple firm stages are being studied against their final stage, risking queue position integrity for projects able to connect now 
Technical limits schemes —some Gate 2 offers with technical limits may not be issued until Q1 2027; connecting earlier is possible, but at the developer's own risk 
SGT Charging — CMP460 first consultation has closed with a workgroup consultation still to follow; DCP461 second consultation is expected imminently  
Recorded 03 March 2026
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#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
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#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
 
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