NESO Announces Grid Connections Reform Timeline
11 Oct 2025
4 min read
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The G2TWQ (CMP435) application window closed on 26 August 2025 and, since then, applicants have been waiting for NESO to confirm when it will begin issuing the resulting Gate 1 and Gate 2 offers. Delay was inevitable when compared to the initial connection reform timeline which targeted first offers being issued in autumn 2025 due to technical issues with NESO’s evidence submission portal forcing an extension to the G2TWQ application window. However, industry stakeholders lacked visibility on the likely delay length.
Some clarity has now been provided with the publication by NESO on 1 October 2025 of an updated interactive timeline for delivery of connections reform across 2025 and 2026 (see Revised Timeline). This revised timeline is for the G2TWQ (CMP435) process only and does not provide an indicative date for opening of the CMP434 window (new applicants).
Grid Connection Reform Timeline: As of 1 October 2025
Outlined in the table below are key dates which G2TWQ (CMP435) applicants and industry stakeholders should be aware of:
Deadline | Action |
Sept – Nov 2025 | NESO undertaking detailed checks of G2TWQ evidence – customers should be available for questions about their applications. |
No later than w/c 1 December 2025 | Start of customer notifications about transmission and distribution applications. |
No later than end of Q4 2025 | Gate 1 offers issued for (i) self-declared projects; (ii) projects that failed to submit an application; and (iii) projects that failed initial checks. |
No later than end of January 2026 | Gate 2 offers issued for “protected” transmission connected projects with 2026/27 connection dates. |
No later than end of Q1 2026 |
|
No later than end of Q2 2026 | Gate 2 offers issued for transmission and distribution applications up to and including 2030. |
No later than end of Q3 2026 |
|
Later in 2026 | Gate 1 final customer notifications issued. |
By publishing the above deadlines, NESO hopes to provide greater clarity and transparency on the GT2WQ process to those developers with projects currently awaiting news, whilst also helping to safeguard key initiatives such as the Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions and the Regional Energy System Plan (RESP). NESO intends to publish further plans for connections scheduled between 2030 and 2035 in the coming year.
Anticipated Challenges
The updated timeline represents a shift in approach from NESO. Rather than including fixed deadlines for milestones, NESO has identified latest dates for delivery with a softer endeavour to “wherever possible” meet the milestones ahead of time. This provides greater flexibility to NESO whilst perhaps tacitly acknowledging that they do not wish to risk greater industry uncertainty and frustration by missing future deadlines. However, there has been some criticism that the “latest by” deadlines are delays in disguise. The revised timeline means some 2030 projects may not receive a Gate 2 offer until end Q2 2026 which represents a 6-month delay to the initial connection reform timeline – a significant period for those projects looking to build out within the next 4 years.
The current target to reach at least 95% low-carbon electricity generation under the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan is already an ambitious one, with specific goals such as deploying circa 5GW of offshore wind per year being challenging. Further hurdles in improving the grid connection queues and uncertainty regarding a launch date for the enduring CMP434 regime will create challenges to investors and developers seeking to finance renewables projects.
Looking Ahead
Kayte O’Neill (NESO CEO) stated that the updated timeline is a “crucial move towards achieving clean power by 2030 and will help drive economic growth across Great Britain”. Industry stakeholders will be watching with great interest to see whether this statement is supported through the issuing of the first Gate 2 offers in Q1 2026.
The question remains as to when the first CMP434 application window will open – watch this space!
We are currently helping a large number of clients assess the impact of and navigate connection reform. Please do get in touch if you think we can be of assistance: James Phillips, Alec Whiter, Ross Fairley, Nick Churchward or Emma Andrews.