Connections
As the Electricity System Operator for Great Britain, National Grid ESO (NGESO) manages the connection and generation contracts that impact on the transmission system. We work closely with Transmission Owners (TOs) to support customer connections.
In this section, we’ve got everything you need to understand the connections process. Including what you need to do to connect to, or make use of the National Electricity Transmission System (NETS).
If you need any more help, please contact us.
An evolving electricity system
Over recent years rapid progress has been made to decarbonise the electricity system and deliver cleaner energy for all.
This has translated into an unprecedented growth in applications to connect to the transmission system. In a relatively short time, we’ve seen the electricity system transform from a smaller number of large fossil fuel generators to a diverse range of supplies, including renewable generation and storage. The system also needs to adapt to meet new demand for electricity. Yet, the process for connecting to the electricity transmission system, written nearly 20 years ago and designed for fewer, larger power plants connecting to the system, has remained largely unchanged.
The challenge
To keep up with the pace of change, we need to reform how projects connect to the electricity transmission system to deliver benefits to consumers as soon as possible.
As of February 2023, there were over 250GW of projects contracted to connect to the transmission system, compared to around 80GW of connected generation already on the system and just in this financial year (21/22), there has been an 84% increase in applications to connect. Ensuring the physical electricity system can quickly adapt to meet these demands has become a key priority.
We recognise the challenges around connections and the application process. As a result, we have launched the Connections Reform project to address these challenges and put our customers and stakeholders at the heart of this change.
On 1 March, in England and Wales, we started implementing a new two-step process. This will reduce uncertainty for developers in the long-term and will apply our new background modelling and battery assumptions.
We recognise the challenges currently facing our connections customers and the need to update the connections application process. As a result, we have launched the Connections Reform project to address these challenges and put our customers and stakeholders at the heart of this change.
If you want to use the National Electricity Transmission System (NETS) without being physically connected, then you’ll need to enter contractual terms and accede to the Connection and Use of System Code (CUSC).
The Connections Portal has been designed to transform the Connections Journey and account management for all customers.
This page summarises the Operational Notification and Compliance Process (ONCP) facilitated by National Grid ESO in respect of new generation connections.
We’ve brought together some tools and resources that we think will help you along your connections journey such as a glossary, FAQ's page and how to contact us.
This page has contains Connections registers, reports and other relevant publications prepared by our Connections team, Including the TEC, Embedded and Interconnector registers.
This is a high level view of the connections process from start to finish. There are also some useful resources to help you along the way, from applying for your connection agreement, to disconnecting from the National Electricity Transmission System (NETS).
Our step-by-step guide takes you through the entire connections offer process, from pre-application to contract signature. You’ll also find links to more information that will help you submit an application.
As the Electricity System Operator for Great Britain, it’s our job to move electricity safely, reliably and efficiently through the system.
TEC amnesty is a process where we invite all parties with Connections Agreements listed on the TEC register to confirm whether they would be willing to terminate their agreement at minimal or no cost, or reduce their TEC.
In this section, we’ve got everything you need to get involved with our customer connection events.
More from Connections
See our bank of frequently asked questions. They’ve been put together by the people who answer your questions every day.
Our dedicated team of ESO Connection Contract Managers will be happy to guide you through the connections process and answer your questions.
Looking for domestic Connections?
We don’t connect directly to homes or other domestic properties. You can find out more about domestic connections here.
Browse our connections glossary of terms for descriptions and definition of acronyms, abbreviations and commonly used terms.