The level of “firm” access to the transmission network relates to financial conditions around a generator’s output. Firm Access means that if the output on to the grid by a particular generator is changed by the Transmission Operator due to a network limitation (known as ‘constraint’), then it may be eligible for financial compensation as set out in the Trading & Settlement Code.
Firm Access is linked to Associated Transmission Reinforcements – this is where upgrades or new infrastructure are planned by the Transmission System Operator. In advance of Firm Access being available, some generators may opt to connect to the system on a “non firm” basis. In this instance, if the output of the generator is changed by the Transmission Operator, the generator will not receive financial compensation as set out in the Trading & Settlement Code.
As the transmission system has developed and new generators have applied to connect, Firm Access studies have been carried out.
Associated Transmission Reinforcements (ATRs) are new or upgraded transmission infrastructure projects. They are associated with a generation project and which must be complete to release a generation project’s FAQ allocation. To achieve firm access in the Single Electricity Market/ Integrated Single Electricity Market, the generation project must be connected via its permanent connection as well as its ATRs being complete.
SONI publishes ATR status reports on its website on a quarterly basis so that generators can track the status of the ATRs associated with their generation project(s).
The latest Quarterly ATR Status Updates are at the links below. The Quarterly ATR Status Update should be read along with the latest FAQ Report for your generation project. The first column of dates is the assumed completion date for each ATR. The freeze date for these assumed completion dates was July 2016. The second column of dates shows the latest update on the completion date or scheduled completion date of each ATR.
Where the scheduled FAQ date for a generation project changes as a result of a change to the scheduled completion date or the completion of an ATR for that generation project, the customer is notified in writing by their System Operator.
ATR Status Updates:
Q4 2023 ATR Status Update - published 06 Nov 2023
Q2 2023 ATR Status Update - published 02 June 2023
Q1 2023 ATR Status Update - published 16 February 2023
Q2 2022 ATR Status Update - published 16 June 2022
Q1 2022 ATR Status Update - published 02 March 2022
Q3 2018 ATR Status Update - published 02 Nov 2018