Gate 2 is the centre of the reform of how generation, storage and large demand projects connect to Great Britain’s electricity transmission network. Instead of the old first-come, first-served queue, projects now have to show they are ready to build and that they are needed before they get a firm place.
Gate 1 and Gate 2
| Gate 1 | Gate 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets it | Projects that do not yet meet the criteria | Projects that meet both readiness and strategic alignment |
| What they receive | Indicative terms, no confirmed date | Confirmed connection date, connection point and queue position |
| Next step | Reapply in a later window once ready | Keep meeting milestones to hold their place |
Readiness means, for most projects, securing and keeping exclusive rights to the land they need, then progressing planning within a set time. Strategic alignment means fitting the technology and regional capacities in the government’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. The same tests apply to new applicants.
Why it was needed
NESO says the queue grew to over 738 GW, compared with the 200 to 225 GW of clean generation capacity needed by 2030. Ready projects were stuck behind speculative ones. Ofgem approved the reform package, known as TMO4+, on 15 April 2025, and applied it to the whole existing queue in an exercise called Gate 2 to Whole Queue. In December 2025 NESO confirmed a reformed pipeline of 283 GW of generation and storage.
Timetable
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 15 April 2025 | Ofgem approves the reform |
| 26 August 2025 | Extended deadline for developers to submit Gate 2 evidence |
| 8 December 2025 | NESO confirms the reformed pipeline |
| 3 June 2026 | Ofgem agrees a phased timetable for issuing offers |
| 31 October 2026 | Phase 1 offer deadline, after a second extension from 30 September |
Under the June 2026 timetable, Ofgem expected the final batch of offers by mid-March 2027. A firm offer matters because developers usually need a connection date before they can raise finance.
Read more: Ofgem gives NESO another month to issue Gate 2 grid connection offers.