Summary
- Ofgem's 7 October consultation proposes expanding self-build options for demand, generation and storage customers connecting to Britain's transmission network.
- The proposal covers dedicated, sole-use assets between customer connection points and the existing network, followed by transfer to the relevant Transmission Owner.
- Responses close on 13 November; the proposal does not guarantee lower costs, earlier energisation or additional transmission capacity.
Ofgem is consulting on a wider option for customers to construct dedicated electricity transmission connection assets themselves before transferring them to the relevant Transmission Owner. Published on 7 October, the proposal could affect how large data centre developers organise high-voltage connection works, although it has not become an operative rule.
The regulator wants demand, generation and storage customers connecting to Britain’s transmission system to have greater choice over delivery. Its proposed scope concerns sole-use assets running from a customer’s connection point, such as a development site, to the existing transmission system. It does not extend a general right to build shared transmission networks or independently operate adopted assets.
Ofgem is seeking responses until 13 November 2026 under the Connect pillar of its demand connections reform programme. The consultation sets out a possible change in responsibilities for constructing and transferring eligible assets, not a commitment that projects will receive earlier energisation dates or lower connection charges.
Which connection works could change
Transmission-connected data centres can require substantial infrastructure between the development boundary and the point where the existing high-voltage network can accept a connection. The particular works depend on the site and agreed connection design, and may include dedicated cable routes, associated switchgear, substations and civil engineering. Their delivery must be coordinated with construction of the data centre’s own electrical systems.
Under the proposed model, a qualifying customer could have the option to procure and construct the sole-use transmission assets instead of relying on the existing delivery route for all such works. Once built to the relevant requirements, those assets would be transferred to the Transmission Owner. The proposal therefore separates customer involvement in construction from long-term ownership and operation of the adopted transmission infrastructure.
The present arrangements permit self-build in more limited circumstances, including restrictions associated with a two-kilometre condition. Ofgem is consulting on a broader framework, but the precise eligibility tests and obligations will depend on any final licence and code changes. The regulator’s publication does not itself grant a developer permission to begin constructing regulated transmission assets.
Transferring customer-built equipment into a regulated network also requires a defined technical and contractual interface. Ofgem has published supporting proposals covering electricity transmission licence conditions, the Connection and Use of System Code, the System Operator and Transmission Code, and adoption arrangements. Those documents indicate that construction choice must remain compatible with the wider system’s rules and responsibilities.
Procurement and construction implications
A data centre developer considering self-build could seek to align procurement, contractor selection and delivery sequencing for its dedicated connection with works on the main campus. That may offer an additional way to manage interfaces between the facility’s construction programme and the route connecting it to the transmission system. It would also put more responsibility on the customer for arranging compliant construction.
Whether this produces a commercial benefit would depend on the tendered work, contractual risk allocation, site conditions and the requirements for adoption. The consultation provides no evidence that a developer exercising the proposed option would necessarily pay less than under the existing approach. Engineering assurance, access to land, environmental permissions and safe construction would remain necessary.
Neither would responsibility for a sole-use connection remove dependencies elsewhere on the grid. A completed cable route cannot make up for insufficient transmission capacity at its connection point, and shared-network reinforcement may still have to be delivered by the responsible organisations. Connection agreements, system studies and commissioning are separate from the question of who builds the eligible dedicated assets.
The same distinction limits claims about programme acceleration. Customer control over a construction contract could help coordinate some activities, but energisation still depends on the full network and site being ready and authorised to operate. Ofgem has not published a guaranteed time saving or an example of a data centre already using the proposed expanded rights.
Regulatory process and next steps
Ofgem is inviting views from transmission companies, the National Energy System Operator, connecting customers and other interested parties. Responses are to be submitted using its consultation template by 13 November. The regulator will have to consider that feedback before determining whether to make the proposed changes and in what form.
For prospective data centre sites, the consultation creates a policy question to factor into infrastructure planning rather than an immediately available route to construction. Developers would still need project-specific confirmation of the connection arrangement, its technical requirements and the roles of the customer and Transmission Owner before relying on self-build in a delivery programme.
The proposal’s distinct feature is the potential transfer of delivery responsibility for qualifying sole-use assets while retaining the regulated network’s ownership and operating framework after adoption. It leaves the availability of transmission capacity, the delivery of shared assets and the readiness of each data centre to connect as separate matters to resolve.
