Grid regulator raises substation funding to speed depot connections

Ofgem has issued draft determinations proposing to raise the Advanced Procurement Mechanism allowance across all three electricity transmission licensees, and to add a new cost category for modular substations at 32kV, 132kV and 275kV. For fleets banking on rapid grid connections for depot charging, this is the kind of unglamorous regulatory plumbing that decides how fast the network can actually deliver capacity.

The consultation, part of the RIIO-T3 transmission price control 2026 to 2031, was published 13 July 2026, with responses due by 5pm on 31 July to RIIO3@ofgem.gov.uk. Ofgem has published separate proposed directions for NGET, SHET and SPT, and the status now sits as closed, awaiting decision. Respondents were drawn from transmission owners, consumer groups, equipment manufacturers and the transmission innovation community - a mix that suggests this is largely an infrastructure-cost debate rather than a retail one, though Ofgem hasn't framed it in those terms.

Why this matters: modular substations bought at scale should, in theory, speed up the grid reinforcement that depot and hub charging projects depend on. Fleets with connection applications in the pipeline should watch for Ofgem's final decision on the APM allowances, since procurement cost pass-through has a habit of showing up later in network charges. (Ofgem)