For most of the last decade, grid connections were treated as a specialist workstream inside development teams. Applications were submitted, offers accepted, and the details managed by a small number of people who understood the process. That model no longer fits Great Britain's battery storage market.

What changed

On 15 April 2025, Ofgem approved NESO's TMO4+ connections reform package. It replaced the "first come, first connected" approach with "first ready and needed, first connected". Projects now have to demonstrate readiness, for example through land rights or planning progress, and must align with system need under the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan to secure a Gate 2 position. Projects that do not meet the criteria move to an indicative Gate 1 queue.

The scale of the change became clear on 8 December 2025, when NESO published the outcome. According to Energy Storage News, 283 GW of projects across technologies were offered connections up to 2035, from a queue of around 722 GW. For battery storage specifically, 83 GW received Gate 2 offers, of which 33 GW are due to connect before 2030. Some 153 GW of battery projects were not prioritised, receiving Gate 1 offers or leaving the queue. Developers had 90 days to respond to transmission offers.

Why this is a leadership issue

When connection capacity was abundant on paper, the grid position was one input among many. Under the reformed regime it is often the scarcest and most valuable thing a storage developer owns. That changes the nature of the work in four ways.

Portfolio strategy depends on it. Decisions about which projects to progress, sell or abandon now turn on the strength of each connection position and the obligations attached to it.

Valuation depends on it. Investors and acquirers price portfolios on connection dates and the evidence behind them. A team that cannot explain its position clearly will see that reflected in value.

Ongoing obligations are demanding. Connection agreements carry milestones and conditions that must be managed over years, alongside planning, land and procurement. Slippage in one area can put the connection itself at risk.

Relationships matter. Constructive, informed engagement with NESO, transmission owners and distribution network operators is a long term capability, not a transaction.

What a connections leader looks like now

The most valuable people in this area combine technical understanding of connection processes with commercial judgement. They can explain to a finance director why a particular condition matters, model the consequences of a delayed date for a funding plan, and advise the board on whether a project is worth progressing. They are also strong communicators who can make a complex grid position intelligible to investors and lenders.

In practice we see three structures working:

  • A head of grid or connections director reporting to the chief executive, attending board meetings when portfolio decisions are taken.
  • A non executive director with network or system operator experience, providing challenge and context at board level.
  • A fractional or interim connections leader, particularly for smaller developers working through a specific reform window or a large batch of offers. See when fractional leadership makes commercial sense.

What to assess when hiring

When we assess candidates for grid leadership roles, we look for evidence that they have shaped decisions rather than processed applications. Useful questions include:

  • Describe a connection offer you advised the business to reject or renegotiate. What happened?
  • How have you managed milestone obligations across a portfolio when planning or land timelines moved?
  • How do you explain a connection position to an investment committee?

The answers reveal whether a candidate is a process manager or a commercial leader. Under the reformed regime, storage businesses need the latter.

Looking ahead

NESO indicated that the next Gate 2 window would open no earlier than the second quarter of 2026, and connection policy will continue to evolve as the system changes. Businesses that treat grid leadership as a board level capability will be better placed to respond to each change than those that leave it in a specialist silo.

How STORIQ Partners can help

This analysis connects directly to our retained executive search work. If it raises questions for your business, we would be glad to talk them through.

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Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Figures are correct to the cited sources at that date.