Connections Reform is a step in the right direction to clean energy but there is still a long road ahead

This article was first published in The Herald.

Connections Reform, the process by which the National Energy System Operator for the UK (NESO) has re-ordered the pipeline of projects waiting to connect to the UK’s electricity network, has prioritised projects that are both ready to connect (have land rights or planning) and are needed to meet the national targets for clean energy set in the government’s Clean Power 2030 Plan (CP30). Previously, projects were connected on a “first come, first served basis” which, although entirely in-keeping with the national stereotype for ‘good’ queue management, would have prevented the UK from achieving its CP30 targets.

While the industry consensus is that Connections Reform was a necessary step on the road to accelerating clean energy, the jury is still out on the progress that has been made. NESO announced the new queue order in December last year but only began to issue offers in February. This has meant that even those at the front of the queue have been left waiting and, in many cases, have had their original connection dates pushed back. This will undoubtedly come as a disappointment to the developers behind those individual projects but should also be treated as a wider cause for concern. The delay will have a knock-on effect on other projects in the queue and could dissuade new ones from being developed if there is sustained uncertainty about the availability of future connections offers. Both have the potential to frustrate progress towards and, ultimately, prevent the UK from achieving the targets set in CP30.

Connections Reform is, however, only the start of the UK’s journey to clean energy. The next step is the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) and it could provide some much-needed certainty on the direction of travel. The SSEP will set new national targets for 2030-2050, and provide a blueprint for the UK’s future energy system. It will plot, on a zonal basis, where investment is needed to achieve the new targets and, in doing so, could provide a green light to get new “needed” projects in the connections queue.

The SSEP is not, however, a guarantee that those projects will be built, and whether the SSEP’s blueprint makes it off the page will depend on a variety of factors, beyond the connections queue, that have a bearing on whether projects are viable. Those factors include use of system charges that incentivise investment, and a planning system that supports and enables projects to be delivered on time. Currently, the need for reform of the use of system charges in the UK (without which, the level of charges may mean that projects which are needed to achieve the new national targets are not commercially viable) and a lack of support for clean energy projects at a local authority level, coupled with regulatory red tape, all have the potential to de-rail progress.

Several options for the SSEP are being developed by NESO for a decision by The Secretary of State for Energy Security later this year. The chosen option will be subject to public consultation in early 2027 before the final SSEP is published. If NESO and government do not address the wider issues that are needed to give effect to the policy intent behind the SSEP then there is a risk that the UK will not meet its targets and will remain unable to build the system it needs to deliver clean energy. If, however, the SSEP reflects and informs the levers we need to accelerate the transition to clean energy, the road ahead looks much brighter. More projects will be able to connect, faster, where they are most needed and the UK will have a clear, achievable, path to a secure and sustainable energy system which, in light of current global events, is an enviable prize.

Jamie McRorie is chairing a panel session at All-Energy 2026: “Taking stock of Electricity Market Reform: From design to delivery”.

Read more about Connections Reforms in our recent article – Connections Reforms – delays and treatment of protected projects.

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