Ofgem has agreed to give the National Energy System Operator (NESO) one more month to send out the last of its Gate 2 Phase 1 grid connection offers. The deadline moves from 30 September to 31 October 2026, according to trade press reports of the regulator’s decision published on 7 October.
It is the second time the Phase 1 deadline has been extended. Ofgem described the change as justified, proportionate and in the interests of consumers in this instance, and the extension is reported to cover about 62 offers.
Why the deadline slipped
NESO wrote to Ofgem on 25 September asking for more time. The delay is reported to stem largely from National Grid Electricity Transmission, which had already been allowed more time to prepare the more complex construction offers it feeds into NESO’s process, and from a small number of new Phase 1 offers that NESO added recently. NESO said the delay would affect developers unevenly, with the most time-critical projects hit hardest.
The rest of the timetable Ofgem agreed in June 2026 is not reported to have changed: Phase 2 offers are due by 31 January 2027.
What Gate 2 is
Gate 2 is the overhaul of how projects get a connection to Great Britain’s electricity grid. Under the old first-come, first-served system, the queue had grown to more than 700 GW of generation and storage, roughly four times what the country needs by 2030. In December 2025 NESO confirmed a reformed pipeline of 283 GW of generation and storage, prioritising projects that are ready to build and fit the government’s Clean Power 2030 plan.
Each offer gives a solar farm, wind farm or battery project a firm connection date and the grid works it depends on, which developers need before they can raise finance. Every month of delay matters most for projects aiming to connect before 2030.
For how connection dates feed into where new projects are built, see our guide to choosing a location for wind turbines. More grid coverage is in our storage and grid hub, and you can follow what the grid is doing now on our live UK grid page.