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What a DNO connection offer tells you, and what to check

By Saqib Shah · · 9 min read

In short. A DNO connection offer is a priced proposal with a closing date. It names the point of connection, splits the works into those only the network operator can do and those an accredited provider could also do, and states the charges and the assumptions behind them. Before you accept, check the closing date, the assumptions that can move the price, and what acceptance commits you to.

What is in a DNO connection offer?

Every network operator words its offer differently, so treat this as a guide to what to look for. Electricity North West (ENWL), National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED), SSEN and UK Power Networks each publish their own documents and terms.

As a worked example we read a redacted SSEN (SHEPD, north of Scotland) offer letter dated 10 May 2023, which SSEN publishes on its website. It is a small low voltage connection, so an 11 kV or 33 kV offer will be longer, but the parts are recognisable: a covering letter, a breakdown of charges, an acceptance form, standard terms and an information pack. Together they constitute the offer.

Inside you should find:

  • the point of connection, which the SSEN glossary defines as “the point (or points) of physical connection to our existing Distribution System”;
  • the charges, split into connection, reinforcement and non-contestable lines, with VAT;
  • an indicative time to complete after acceptance, and what that time depends on;
  • the assumptions the price rests on.

Which works can someone else do, and how are the charges made up?

Contestable works are works an accredited independent connections provider (ICP) or an independent distribution network operator (IDNO) can also do. Non-contestable works are the ones only the network operator can do: NGED, ENWL and SSEN’s charging statements each say “The Non-Contestable Work can only be carried out by us or our appointed agents”, and list which works fall on each side. The SSEN glossary describes the second group as services that “cannot be provided by a person other than” the operator. Our guide to what to have ready for an application covers the stage before.

Operators show the choice in different ways. The SSEN example has an “All Works” offer and an “Alternative Offer to provide Non-Contestable Works only”, and the acceptance form asks you to tick one. NGED describes a dual offer in which “Option 2 is for NGED to carry out the non-contestable works only”. UK Power Networks gives convertible quotes with three options, A, B and C, and says options B and C hold the non-contestable charges your chosen ICP needs.

Two charge lines surprise people:

  • Reinforcement. The SSEN example says reinforcement charges are “calculated and shared in some cases between you and us”. The method sits in the operator’s connection charging statement.
  • Offer expenses. ENWL says that for some quotes and point of connection offers “a charge will apply for the provision of the quotation offer, regardless of whether you choose to accept it”. Ask whether yours does.

How long is the offer open, and what does accepting commit you to?

It depends on the operator and the type of quote, so read the date on your own offer. NGED’s page says “Connection offers are valid for 90 days after which they automatically expire”, that a single further 90 days may be possible if you ask no more than 10 days before expiry, and that once accepted the offer “will become a binding contract between us”. ENWL says full detailed quotes and point of connection offers are open for 180 calendar days, which it may extend at its discretion (20 working days if the offer becomes interactive). UK Power Networks says that where unconditional interactivity applies, you have 30 calendar days, and the signed form and cleared payment must arrive by 5pm on the last day or the quote lapses. The SSEN example’s standard terms give 90 calendar days from the date of the offer letter, cut to 30 days if the offer becomes interactive.

Take Alex, a project manager at a fictional consultancy, who receives an offer for a client’s new substation at an invented business park. The client is away and a director must sign. Alex diarises the closing date the day the offer arrives and asks the client for a decision date well before it.

In the SSEN example, acceptance means the signed form plus all payments due. Paying without the form may be treated as acceptance, but SSEN says it is “entitled but not obliged” to do that, and where the quotation is over £100,000 including VAT it requires the signed form. If you cancel before completion, SSEN deducts costs it has already incurred, and it reserves the right to terminate if works have not started, or started and were then delayed, 12 months after your acceptance. Where an offer is a contract, check the terms with your solicitor.

What can change the price after the offer?

The SSEN example lists the main ones, and they are worth looking for in any offer:

  • It says the offer is made on a desktop study and that “subsequent Site investigations may require design changes which result in additional charges”.
  • It says SSEN may amend charges because of variations to material or labour costs, and that this is “very likely” where completion is over 12 months away. Its terms fix the charges for 90 days from the offer letter, then apply actual costs.
  • Land rights and other consents can add costs if third-party agreement is not obtained.
  • It assumes the customer does the excavation and backfilling, so a change there changes the price.

It also says the operator will charge for additional work not included. Other operators’ terms will differ, but the pattern is a fair prompt for your own review.

What should you ask the operator?

Put the questions in writing, before the closing date. Ask:

  • whether the date can be extended and on what terms;
  • which assumptions could change the price, and who pays if they do;
  • whether a different point of connection, or any change, is a variation of this offer or a new quotation, and whether a fee applies;
  • who the operator treats as the connecting customer, the commercial contact and the payer (the SSEN letter asks you to check that these three roles are right).

SSEN’s charging statement says a major change to your application after the offer brings a further offer expense and a minor one does not; NGED handles changes by a variation letter, but not for a substantial change. Ask which yours is.

What to check line by line before you accept

  • The closing date is in the project diary, and you know who can sign.
  • The point of connection matches your design assumption.
  • The works are split into contestable and non-contestable, and you know which route you are accepting.
  • Every charge line is explained, including reinforcement and any offer expenses.
  • The assumptions are listed and you have checked them against the site.
  • You know what could add cost after acceptance.
  • The payer and contact roles are right.
  • You know what cancelling costs, and your solicitor has read the terms.

Frequently asked questions

Is a budget estimate the same as an offer?

No. ENWL says budget estimates cannot be accepted, and NGED calls one an indication of the potential connection charge.

Can I use an accredited provider instead of the network operator?

For the contestable works, yes. The SSEN, NGED and UK Power Networks documents above each describe a route in which the operator does only the non-contestable work and you appoint an accredited provider for the rest. Our NERS guide explains what accreditation involves.

Can the closing date be extended?

Sometimes. NGED allows one further 90 days, with conditions. ENWL may extend at its discretion, and SSEN’s current statement says it will consider a request, but the SSEN example says no extension is possible where the interactive process applies.

How long does the operator have to send a quotation?

Ofgem’s letter of 13 March 2026 lists the standard as 35 working days for an HV demand quotation and 65 working days for EHV, with payments of £180 (HV) and £265 (EHV) for each working day late from April 2026 (the Regulations set £160 and £235, raised each year with inflation). The period starts once the operator has the information it reasonably needs and any offer expenses are paid, and there are exemptions, for example where a third party or access made it impossible. This covers demand quotations; HV generation quotations have 65 working days under a separate voluntary Ofgem standard.

What if I think the quotation is wrong?

The same Regulations define a quotation accuracy scheme, “a process through which a customer can challenge whether it has received an accurate quotation”, but it covers only single LV services and small LV projects, so it will not help with an HV or EHV offer. Raise the concern with the operator in writing first. Unresolved disputes can go to the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority under section 23 of the Electricity Act 1989; the SSEN example says within 12 months of connection. Ask your solicitor early.

This is general information, not legal advice. Your offer, its terms and your solicitor decide.

Sources

Checked against these sources on 23 October 2026.

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