Offshore electricity transmission: another piece of the jigsaw

Last Friday, Ofgem and BERR (The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) published a Policy Update on the arrangements to apply to the new offshore transmission regime, which is expected to apply from April 2009 and to come into full effect from April 2010.

The new regime has been a long time in the making – the majority of the primary legislation being contained in the Energy Act 2004 – and is undoubtedly more complicated than was originally imagined. However, the key components of the proposed regime are now established, and our analysis summarises the position reached. Check our action points for you and your organisation.

The offshore transmission regime also forms an important part of wider measures intended to deliver the Government's vision for offshore electricity generation. Other measures include the Marine Bill - which is intended to simplify the offshore consenting regime, and on which a Parliamentary Committee is due to report next month – and the Crown Estates' tender for Round 3 offshore leases - the timetable for which was announced earlier this month.