Events and webinars | National Energy System Operator
Summary
NESO's Early Competition events page consolidates webinar recordings, slides, and an active Expression of Interest questionnaire with a 30 April 2026 deadline. The EOI asks stakeholders to shape how transmission projects are packaged, sequenced, and brought to market under the Early Competition regime. This is the engagement layer around an already-decided policy, not a new rule.
Why it matters
Early Competition introduces competitive tendering for transmission assets that would otherwise default to incumbent TOs under RIIO. The EOI deadline matters for developers and non-TO bidders who want to influence project packaging — miss it and NESO defines the pipeline without your input.
Key facts
- •Expression of Interest deadline: 30 April 2026
- •EOI workbook available for download, submissions to box.earlycompetition@neso.energy
- •March 2026 webinar provided latest implementation plan update
- •Early Competition regime implements Ofgem's decision to introduce competitive tendering for onshore transmission
Timeline
Areas affected
Related programmes
Memo
What this is about
NESO is running an Expression of Interest process to let stakeholders shape how transmission projects are packaged, sequenced, and brought to market under Early Competition. The EOI workbook must be completed and returned to earlycompetition@nationalgrideso.com by 30 April 2026.
Early Competition is the regime that opens transmission network build to competitive tendering — breaking the automatic right of incumbent Transmission Owners (National Grid, SSEN, SPT) to deliver every new transmission asset identified in network planning. Ofgem decided to implement it; NESO's job is to work out which projects go to tender, how they are bundled, and in what order. The EOI is the mechanism for that: it asks potential bidders and other stakeholders what they can deliver and how they want the pipeline structured. If you care about which projects get competed and how, this is your window.
Key points
The EOI is the substantive action here. The events page bundles webinar recordings, slides, and meeting minutes going back to 2020, but the live item is the EOI workbook with its 30 April deadline. Everything else is archive.
What the EOI asks. NESO wants to know which organisations are interested in competing for transmission assets, what capabilities they bring, and how projects should be packaged and sequenced. This directly shapes the first pipeline of competed projects. The supporting information pack provides context on what Early Competition covers and how NESO intends to identify and tender projects.
Why packaging matters. A transmission reinforcement can be tendered as a single asset or bundled with related works. How projects are grouped determines who can bid. A narrow, single-asset tender favours specialists. A large bundled package favours incumbents with existing infrastructure and consenting experience. The packaging decision is where the real competitive dynamics get set — before a single bid is submitted.
Sequencing determines market structure. The order in which projects come to market shapes whether a competitive supply chain develops. Front-load the easy projects and you get a wave of new entrants. Front-load the complex ones and incumbents win by default because nobody else has the track record. NESO's sequencing choices will determine whether Early Competition produces genuine competition or a managed process that delivers the same outcomes as RIIO.
The commercial model is already defined. Webinars from 2024 and earlier set out the revenue model for competed assets (a CATO-style licence with a fixed revenue stream). The February 2024 update refined this. The EOI is not reopening commercial terms — it is asking who wants to play and how the pipeline should be structured.
March 2026 webinar provided the latest update. This session covered implementation progress and near-term milestones. The slides and recording are available through the document library. Anyone responding to the EOI should review this material to understand NESO's current thinking on timeline and process.
What happens next
30 April 2026: EOI deadline. Responses go to earlycompetition@nationalgrideso.com. After this closes, NESO will use the responses to inform its project identification and pipeline sequencing decisions.
Project identification: NESO will assess which transmission projects from the Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP) are suitable for competition. The April 2024 webinar detailed the assessment criteria. Projects need to be separable from the existing network, large enough to justify a tender process, and not so urgent that competition would cause unacceptable delay.
First tender pipeline: Once projects are identified and packaged, NESO will publish the pipeline and move to formal procurement. The tender process runs through PQQ, ITT Stage 1, and ITT Stage 2 — a multi-stage competitive dialogue already designed and consulted on.
The strategic question is whether Early Competition will genuinely diversify who builds transmission infrastructure or whether the complexity of the process, the incumbents' consenting advantages, and the packaging choices will reproduce the existing TO monopoly under a competitive veneer. The EOI is the last point at which stakeholders can influence this before NESO locks in the pipeline. After 30 April, NESO defines the terms.
Source text
Events and webinars | National Energy System Operator Show/Hide Menu Toggle Add to favourites Close tooltip Sign in to add this page to your favourites Sign in or register Show favourites Close Close tooltip Sign in or register to manage your favourites Sign in or register Help You are now signed in Visit My NESO account to view and manage your dataset subscriptions. Maybe later Go to your account Events and webinars The success of our Early Competition Plan relied on our ability to bring together a range of expertise from across the energy industry and beyond. Throughout the development of our plan, we're hosting workshops and webinars during each phase of the project. You can also find more slides and post-meeting minutes for events in the document library on the Early competition page . If you'd like to find out more on Early Competition and how we worked with industry to form our proposal, watch the webinars below by pressing the play icon on each image or download the slides from each session using the link above each image. Early Competition Expression of Interest - Deadline 30 April 2026 We have released an Expression of Interest questionnaire to give you the chance to shape how projects are packaged, sequenced and brought to market under the Early Competition regime. Please download, populate and send the Expression of Interest workbook to us at [email protected] . Expression of Interest supporting information pack (Populate) Expression of Interest workbook Webinar: An Early Competition update - March 2026 This session shared the latest progress on our implementation plan and highlighted what stakeholders can expect over the coming period. It also provided an opportunity to ask questions directly to the project team. Watch Webinar View Slides Close Early competition project identification and tender process webinar – April 2024 On 8 April we hosted a webinar which detailed the process we will use to assess which projects will be considered as most appropriate for the first pipeline projects for early competition and the tender process they will go through. Watch the webinar or view the slide pack below. Watch the webinar View the slides Close Early Competition Commercial Model Update - February 2024 On 22 February 2024 we hosted a webinar which detailed the updated commercial model for early competition, finishing with a short Q&A. Watch the webinar or view the slide pack below. Watch the webinar View the slides Close Webinar: Early Competition December 2023 update On 14 December we hosted a webinar which detailed an update and next steps for early competition, aligning early competition and the Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP), Network Services Procurement and then finished with a short Q&A. Watch the update webinar Webinar: Early Competition implementation launch Following Ofgem's decision to implement early competition, our latest webinar sets out our high-level implementation timeframes and discuss our early thinking to our stakeholder approach. Watch the webinar Early Competition post-tender workshop Close In this webinar, we provide an update on the project's progress and post-tender award activities. Early Competition ITT stage 2 webinar Close In this webinar we give an update on Early Competition, an overview of the tender process, and detail ITT stage 2. Early Competition ITT stage 1 webinar Close During this webinar, we cover the tender process, PQQ, and ITT stage 1 engagement. Most recent 2021 webinars 2020 webinars Past podcasts Title Description Date CBA Methodology Consultation workshop 2 During this workshop we provide a high-level summary of the previous workshop and answer questions from stakeholders. Jan 2023 CBA Methodology Consultation workshop 1 During this workshop we discuss further detail as set out in in the CBA Methodology Consultation, provide guidance on how to respond to the consultation and answer questions from stakeholders. Dec 2022 October 2022 webinar Watch our webinar on the progress being made during our implementation phase. Oct 2022 Title Description Date Early Competition Stakeholders webinar You can watch our Early Competition stakeholders webinar from November 2021 here. Nov 2021 Phase 2 Q&A webinar Watch the Phase 2 Q&A webinar Jul 2021 Early Competition Plan webinar Early Competition Plan - Phase 4 May 2021 Webinar: An Introduction to the Early Competition Plan Watch a recording of our webinar to hear a verbal overview of our proposals, and what this could mean for industry. May 2021 TO Counterfactual in Early competition workshop Early Competition Plan - Phase 4 Mar 2021 Phase 2 launch webinar Watch the Phase 2 launch webinar. Mar 2021 Commercial Model and Model Implementation Q&A Session – Recording 1 The first of two interactive sessions giving an overview of our proposals for Commercial Model and Model Implementation. Feb 2021 Commercial Model and Model Implementation Q&A Session – Recording 2 The second of two interactive sessions giving an overview of our proposals for Commercial Model and Model Implementation. Feb 2021 Project Identification and End-to-End Process Q&A Session – Recording 1 The first of two interactive sessions giving an overview of our proposals for Project Identification and End-to-End Process. Feb 2021 Project Identification and End-to-End Process Q&A Session – Recording 2 The second of two interactive sessions giving an overview of our proposals for Project Identification and End-to-End Process. Feb 2021 Roles and Responsibilities and Early Competition in Distribution Q&A Session – Recording 1 The first of two interactive sessions giving an overview of our proposals for Roles and Responsibilities and Distribution. Feb 2021 Roles and Responsibilities and Early Competition in Distribution Q&A Session – Recording 2 The second of two interactive sessions giving an overview of our proposals for Roles and Responsibilities and Distribution. Feb 2021 Title Description Date Phase 3 Consultation Launch Webinar Watch the recording of the launch webinar that happened on 15th December 2020 for a high-level overview of our Phase 3 Consultation proposals. Dec 2020 Phase 1 webinar You can watch our Phase 1 webinar here. Mar 2020 Title Phase Date Phase 3 responses Phase 4 podcast March 2021 Early Competition Plan overview Phase 2 podcasts 2020 Tender Commercial Phase 2 podcasts 2020 Tender Technical Phase 2 podcasts 2020 Solution Delivery Phase 2 podcasts 2020 Get involved with the Early Competition Sign up to our newsletter Sign up to our newsletter get the latest from Early Competition Plan. Email us If you've not found what you're looking for, get in touch with the project team. logo--facebook