Market
Grid connections reform: over 75% of offers issued, and what it leaves out for homes
On 1 October 2026 NESO, the National Energy System Operator, published a piece by its Director of Connections, Colm Murphy, on the next stage of grid connections reform. He says industry is no longer debating whether the old queue had to change, and that more than 75% of the offers needed to support the 2030 energy system have been issued.
The article is just as clear about what an offer is not. It says issuing an offer does not deliver a project, and that a connection also depends on planning consent, network construction, supply chains, finance and the project being ready. It lists who is responsible: developers for consent, finance and supply chains, network companies for building the infrastructure, NESO for coordinating the process and strategic planning, Ofgem for the regulatory framework and Government for the wider policy direction.
The piece does not mention rooftop solar or home batteries at all, and we want to be plain about that. It is about developers, networks and investors in large projects. Our reading is that a home system is handled by the local network operator, which for Kent is South Eastern Power Networks, part of UK Power Networks, through the notification or approval step your installer manages, not through NESO's project queue. If your installer says otherwise, ask why.
Why mention it, then? Because the reform shapes how fast new generation and storage can connect to the grid, and that sets the background for the prices and rules homeowners see. It does not change today's sums for your roof. The best-value route for most houses with a roof of their own is still solar first, and a battery only if your use or tariff justifies it, as our guide to choosing explains.
As with every article here, the figures come from the page linked below, and the commentary is our own view, not advice.
Read the original: NESO: What industry needs next from connections reform. Figures come from that page. Where we do our own sums we say so. Commentary is our own view, not advice.
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