Ofgem has announced a short list of four bidders competing to own and run transmission links to two offshore windfarms. They are both located in the North Sea off the coast of Yorkshire.
The shortlisted bidders go through to the final bid stage where Ofgem will appoint the Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO) for each project, who will be granted a licence to own and operate the transmission links. The OFTOs will receive a guaranteed revenue stream for 20 years under the terms of their licence, subject to availability of the assets.
The Westermost Rough and Humber Gateway projects are being tendered under the third tender round of the OFTO regime, which totals c. £400m of transmission assets. It is the first tender round under the new enduring regulatory regime. Since it was set up by Ofgem and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in 2009, the regime has attracted £1.4 billion of investment and led to significant savings for consumers. A further £1.5 billion of transmission assets (inclusive of this third tender round) are currently in the tender process, with billions more in the pipeline.
The following bidders have been shortlisted:
Ofgem expects to announce details of the preferred bidders for the Westermost Rough and Humber Gateway in 2015.
Press Release, August 20, 2014