Could a flexible or non-firm grid connection suit your site?

A flexible connection lets your site connect on terms that permit restrictions on electricity import or export. The restrictions matter as much as the connection price. Ofgem's DCP404 decision introduced clearer distribution access arrangements from 1 April 2023 [S1]. Ask for the actual capacity profile, curtailment terms and control costs before deciding. Checked October 2026.

Last checked 16 October 2026

What is a flexible or non-firm grid connection?

A non-firm connection permits your network access to be restricted under agreed conditions. The attraction is the possibility of connecting without waiting for all the reinforcement required for unrestricted access. Ofgem describes flexible access as a trade-off between potentially quicker or cheaper connection and restricted use [S4]. It is an option to investigate, rather than an assumption to put into your opening date.

Your distribution network operator, or DNO, runs the local electricity network. Ask it to explain the constraint affecting your site and the products it can offer. A depot mainly needs import capacity to charge vehicles. Solar and batteries can also need permission to export. Request a proposal that separates those directions.

Start with the DNO application guide. Give the designer your operating hours and charging deadlines, not just the total charger rating. A connection with restrictions may fit overnight charging and still fail a daytime vehicle turnaround requirement.

How do firm, flexible and profiled connections differ?

Product names alone are not enough to compare access. UK Power Networks describes a profiled connection with capacity varying by time of day. Its minimum contractual capacity differs from its flexible demand product, which can be curtailed to zero [S3]. Other offers need checking against their own schedules.

Request a written comparison using the same site layout and energy needs. Separate connection construction, control equipment, recurring charges and restrictions. If one offer appears cheaper, identify exactly which cost or access right differs. Do not describe the price difference as a saving before those scopes match.

How could restrictions affect your chargers, solar or batteries?

Curtailment means reducing permitted import or export when the relevant network constraint requires it. UK Power Networks describes remotely controlled access for both demand and generation [S2]. The business effect depends on what your equipment was due to do at that moment.

For chargers, ask your designer to simulate missed charging deadlines. For solar, ask for generation that would be unused or curtailed. For batteries, ask what happens when a restriction coincides with a planned charge or discharge. Keep the assumed equipment availability and driver demand visible in each comparison.

Do not count a battery as an unlimited substitute for the grid. Request a model showing its energy remaining through the restricted window, followed by the time available to recharge. If it is already allocated to another task, show that conflict. Read load management versus an upgrade before buying equipment solely to work around a connection constraint.

How should you assess a curtailment forecast?

Ask for the forecast in a form your energy modeller can use. An annual percentage can hide whether restrictions fall during your busiest trading hours. Request the underlying timing assumptions and a description of how network conditions or queued projects could change the result. Ofgem’s access decision explains why clearer rights and better-defined curtailment arrangements matter to connecting customers [S4]. Use the connection queue reform guide when asking how queued projects affect your offer.

The ENA explainer identifies changing network demand and operation as forecast influences [S5]. Set your own operational test: which vehicles must leave charged, and which demand can wait? Ask the modeller to compare a normal operating pattern with a more restrictive scenario. Keep these labelled as scenarios rather than predictions. Record the source and date of any network assessment used.

Present the result to whoever runs the site, not only the project developer. A pub may tolerate slower guest charging at some times; a depot manager may reject a proposal that leaves vehicles unavailable for dispatch. The decision should follow your service requirement and the actual offer.

What must your connection agreement and controls cover?

Ofgem approved DCP404 to clarify non-firm distribution access rights [S1]. Ask your solicitor to review the access schedule, liability and remedies with the network offer. Request a clear distinction between a forecast, a binding curtailment limit and a condition for moving to another access arrangement.

Have your designer identify the control interface, responsibility for communications and the safe response to lost signals. Ask who tests the complete installation and who responds when your chargers cannot draw their expected power. Get those responsibilities into the procurement scope.

Check whether the charger operator’s service agreement assumes unrestricted electricity. Align its driver complaint process and fault reporting with the grid restrictions. Keep network restriction events separately identifiable from charger faults so you can understand what happened and discuss any applicable remedy.

What information should you submit before choosing an offer?

Prepare your site load history, planned charger demand, vehicle departures and any solar or battery proposal. State which activities are essential and which can move. Ask for a priced alternative with fewer chargers or staged installation if that meets your near-term needs. Use the load profile guide to organise the evidence.

Request confirmation of what is included in each programme: design, land permissions, construction, controls, commissioning and network dependencies. Put responsibility against every unresolved item. Review the grid upgrade cost guide before committing to the equipment purchase.

What should you do next?

Bring the network offer and your operating schedule when you get matched with an installer that covers your area. Ask for an assessment of restricted access against your actual charging needs.

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