Ofgem said it wants DNOs to “take a creative approach” to connecting both generation and demand customers more quickly, as well as reducing the need to build additional capacity on the network.
However, facilitating investment in anticipation of connections could also improve the process, the regulator added. “Sometimes new capacity will have to be built, and we are interested in exploring ways in which this investment could be made earlier to speed up the connections process, without putting up other customers’ bills,” a spokesperson from Ofgem told Utility Week.
“We are inviting DNOs to work with stakeholders, including generators, to bring forward trials of new approaches that might achieve this.”
Ofgem will publish an update on its work in January 2016, and said it expects this “anticipatory investment” to become best practice if trials show it to be “effective and efficient”.
DNOs are currently required by law to provide a connection offer to anyone who asks. They cannot discriminate, and the system operates on a first come, first served basis with no differentiation between types of projects.
However, there has been huge growth in small-scale generation in the UK, with installations having increased by 40 per cent over the last year, which has put pressure on network capacity.
Ofgem said it “recognises that timely and cost-effective connections help the economy to grow and help decarbonise energy”.
“In seeking to improve the connections process for both demand and distributed generation, a balance has to be struck between providing affordable connections and keeping electricity bills down,” it added.