Are the UK’s industrial growth plans underestimating grid connection risk?

Companies may be planning for growth without fully accounting for the time, cost and uncertainty involved in securing additional electrical capacity. 

That’s according to new research commissioned by grid consultancy Roadnight Taylor, which surveyed 200 senior industrial decision-makers across Great Britain. Of the respondents that had experienced connection delays, 60% said their businesses had been directly affected, while 34% said growth had stopped altogether.

The survey also found that grid difficulties were delaying projects for 33% of businesses, increasing costs for 32% and obstructing energy transition plans for 25%. 

That’s a cause for concern for the UK Government, as connection issues are having a real impact on investment in the economy – and that could mean it struggles for growth, with GDP having grown by just 0.1% in May 2026. 

These issues aren’t anything new, with many warning all the way back in 2023 that grid connection delays could impact the UK’s net zero goals. But the latest research does show that some are still underestimating the exact scale of the problem. 

According to the research, some 28% of directors who had encountered grid difficulties viewed connection timescales as a significant barrier, compared with only 8% of those without direct experience.Some respondents expected a connection to take 3.2 years on average, while the Roadnight Taylor considers a timescale closer to eight years more realistic for some major projects.

There is reform under way. Ofgem’s approved transmission connections package introduced ‘ready’ and ‘needed’ criteria intended to move viable projects ahead of speculative or less-developed schemes. NESO has subsequently reordered a pipeline that had grown beyond 700 GW, although it describes this as the first stage of a longer process.

Large industrial demand connections have their own unresolved challenges. Ofgem says the demand queue is growing, contains projects that may not be viable and currently lacks a mechanism for prioritising strategically important demand. Its June 2026 update outlined further work on high-voltage self-build options and connection arrangements that could allow more demand to connect while protecting system operation. Consultations and regulatory development are continuing.

That makes the survey’s finding that 74% of respondents expect connections reform to benefit their organisations understandable, but it does not remove the immediate delivery risk.

“The earlier organisations engage with this reality, the better placed they will be,” said Hugh Taylor, Chief Executive of Roadnight Taylor, and that’s a lesson that has been parroted before.  

Early engagement needs to mean more than submitting an application sooner. It means treating electrical capacity as a strategic project input, testing the assumptions behind the requested load and maintaining a credible plan for design, procurement, commissioning and operation if the preferred connection is delayed or constrained.