The UK’s energy regulator Ofgem has opened a public consultation into a proposed subsea cabling development in Hebrides and Orkney.
The consultation seeks to establish if the replacement existing subsea cable connecting Ardmore on the Isle of Skye and Lorch Carnan on South Uist should receive additional funding from the regulator or if the project should be altered to a more cost-effective solution.
The current cabling, which is owned and operated by SSEN, has been operational for over three decades and, as such, is assessed to be at risk of failure due to “poor asset health condition”. With a replacement solution needed to maintain the electricity supply on South Uist, SSEN has presented Ofgem with several solutions for a replacement service, of which SSEN has stated the best is the construction of a new subsea cable.
Conversely, Ofgem believes that from a consumer perspective, the most cost efficient method would be to replace a section of the subsea cable with an overhead line. However, the complexities of the planning process for delivering a new overhead line, and the associated delay in delivering the project, could potentially put the electricity supply in Uist at risk.
As such, the regulator is opening a consultation to gather public opinion and stakeholder feedback on the proposed allocation of £53.81 million to SSEN for the delivery of a new subsea connection to replace the existing one, as well as additional overhead line connections between the islands. Regulations dictate that if projects are proposed that may add to the cost to the regulator, and thereby to energy consumers, Ofgem must present the proposals and cost benefit analysis for public consideration.
Ofgem notes that SSEN should be held responsible for any extra cost incurred as a result of delays to the consenting process for construction of a new overhead line, adding “in our view SSEN could have better mitigated the potential for delay if it had taken effective action earlier” and “there was scope to identify the risk and commence mitigation actions earlier than it did”.
Energy industry stakeholders are now being asked to provide feedback to Ofgem on the proposed plans for the cabling replacement, with respondents asked to comment on Ofgem’s assessment of the needs case for the project, the optimal solution and cost benefit of the proposed work, as well as views on the amount of funding granted to the development. The consultation will remain open until 13 February, with responses reviewed and published no later than 27 February.
Consultation blitz at Ofgem
This is the latest in a series of recent consultations opened by the regulator since the start of 2025.
On 10 January, Ofgem launched a statutory consultation on proposed changes to the Capacity Market rules, of which the most significant is removing the 50MW limit for individual capacity units taking part in the Capacity Market. Several other policy changes have been proposed as part of the consultation, including clarifying the role of agents in the capacity market system and changing the definition of station connection entry capacity.
Last week, a call for input was launched into consumer gas disconnections, specifically regarding households who voluntarily wish to disconnect from the gas network to avoid standing charges for a supply they longer use. With the decline of gas heating, an increasing number of consumers are seeking to remove themselves from the supply, but consumers who wish to disconnect from the gas network voluntarily face upfront costs of an average of £1,950, expected to increase to approximately £2,300 by 2030.