Always contact your local grid owner first
The process of connecting to the power grid always starts with contacting the local grid owner. This is where final customers have their customer relationship, and it is with the grid owner that the connection agreement is signed. Find your grid owner by using NVE's map of power grid companies (in Norwegian).
If applying for capacity from 5 MW/20 GWh/year, the grid owner must take it further with Statnett to assess if there is space in the transmission grid.
Grid capacity for regular consumption
The grid owner fills out a grid connection request form (website in Norwegian) on behalf of the final customer and sends it to Statnett by email. Statnett has developed a digital solution where the grid owner can fill out cases in a web solution without sending forms. Contact your customer and connection manager for a link to the web solution.
If the project is less than 5 MW and/or 20 GWh/year (so-called regular consumption), the grid owner does not need to clarify capacity with Statnett unless otherwise agreed.
The main rule in the connection process is the first-come, first-served principle, but grid owners have the opportunity to reserve capacity for customers who fall under the definition of regular consumption.
If the project is very large (more than about 300 MW), it may be relevant to connect directly to the transmission grid. This is decided by the local grid owner and Statnett together. Statnett will then take over customer contact, and final customer will become a direct customer with us.
An existing customer requesting an increase in subscribed demand so that the total subscribed demand exceeds 5 MW and/or 20 GWh/year is not considered a business with limited power withdrawal and therefore does not fall within the exception for regular consumption. The limitation on energy consumption up to 20 GWh/year means that the power limit in practice is 5 MW for normal consumers, while the limit is about 2.5 MW for customers who use power around the clock all year.
Clarification of consumption at the point of connection
The sum of consumption at several points of connection for the same company (e.g., all charging stations for a charging operator) is not decisive for whether the individual inquiry is regular consumption or not. Each point of connection is considered a separate business activity.
An exception is where the same company has several points of connection on a plot with the same property and usage number. In such a case, each point of connection will not be considered a separate business activity.
Maturity assessments – how close is the project to being ready for connection to the power grid?
During the connection process, maturity assessments are made of the grid connection request. If final customer is a customer of the grid owner, the grid owner makes the maturity assessment. If the project is 100 MW or larger, the grid owner and Statnett make a joint maturity assessment. For direct customers, Statnett makes the assessment.
A maturity assessment means that we assess whether the project is mature enough before moving on to the next step in the process. The requirement for maturity increases with each step.
We assess maturity based on objective criteria found in the evaluation form maturity (in Norwegian).
Is there available capacity? Statnett conducts an assessment
When the power demand and location of the project are reasonably clarified, the Grid Owner or direct customer can send a request to get an assessment of whether there is available capacity to connect the project. For us to conduct the assessment, the project must meet certain information requirements described in the maturity evaluation form (in Norwegian).
Statnett will then assess whether there is capacity in the transmission grid to offer the capacity the project needs. This means that we assess whether it is possible to connect the project to the power grid without significantly affecting the supply security of other customers. We call this an operationally proper assessment.
Such requests are generally answered based on previous analyses and known information.
Statnett's response to an operationally proper assessment does not grant any rights to any available capacity in the current or planned grid. Statnett has not reserved the capacity with an response to the assement. The time of the capacity request to Statnett is also not decisive for the customer's place in the "queue" for capacity reservation.
Study – what is needed to enable connection?
If it turns out that it is not feasible to connect the project to the current power grid, a study must be conducted to find out what is needed to connect the project.
Statnett primarily assesses the need for new grid capacity through area plans or larger studies and concept selection studies. If it is the customer's project that triggers the need for a study, the customer must help pay for it.
The grid owner or direct customer must then send an inquiry to Statnett for us to start the study. For us to conduct the study, the project must meet certain information requirements described in the maturity evaluation form (in Norwegian).
Read more about the cost of expanding capacity in the transmission grid.
Connection on special condition - NEM § 3-2
If there is no available capacity in the grid on regular terms, Statnett can assess the possibility of providing connection with special conditions for disconnection or limitation in consumption or production according to NEM § 3-2 or 3-3 (in Norwegian).
Entering into such agreements with special conditions is voluntary for all parties but enables faster connection in cases where there is no available capacity on regular terms.
From the time the final customer is connected, the final customer will typically be the first to be disconnected in case of faults or other operational disturbances – and the last to be reconnected. No compensation is given to the customer for disconnections or load reductions after entering into such an agreement. The final customer must cover the costs of equipment and studies associated with the agreement.
Ordering grid capacity and reservation requirements
When the project is sufficiently mature, the final customer can send an order for grid capacity to the grid owner. The grid owner then forwards the order to Statnett to confirm that there is capacity in the transmission grid. This means, for example, that an order can be sent even if Statnett has not started or completed its assessment.
If it is determined that the project will have a direct connection to the transmission grid, the final customer sends the order directly to Statnett.
The date of submission of a mature order for grid capacity to the connected grid owner determines the project's place in the queue. Here, the first-come, first-served principle applies.
If the customer's order meets the reservation requirements, Statnett will reserve capacity in the transmission grid. The customer's project must meet three requirements for Statnett to reserve capacity:
- There must be available capacity in the current grid or after the commissioning of ongoing projects (planned grid).
- The project must meet the maturity requirements. For direct customers, Statnett assesses maturity. If you are a final customer of a grid owner, the grid owner assesses maturity except for projects larger than 100 MW. For these projects, the grid owner and Statnett make a joint maturity assessment. We assess maturity based on criteria found in the maturity evaluation form (in Norwegian).
- For measures covered by the rules on construction contributions, cf. the Control Regulation §161, the customer must commit to covering all or part of the project development costs from project start (BP0) to construction start (BP3) cf. the Control Regulation §17-5. At construction start (BP3), the customer must enter into an agreement on construction contributions. Statnett must also determine and collect a construction contribution from other customers who are connected or receive increased capacity in grid facilities financed by construction contributions. The obligation applies for ten years from the time the first customer who triggered the investment was connected or received increased capacity.
Capacity Queue
If there are more customers meeting the maturity requirements than there is available capacity in the grid, the time of the customer's submission of a mature order determines the place in the queue for the various customers. Other orders from customers meeting the maturity requirements are placed in the capacity queue awaiting the start of new relevant grid projects. The place in the capacity queue is determined by the time of the customer's order submission.
Customers in the capacity queue can adjust a portion of their ordered consumption to fall within the definition of regular consumption (5 MW and 20 GWh). This regular consumption can be connected without clarification with Statnett. As long as the total demand is within the previously ordered capacity in the capacity queue, the customer maintains their place in the queue for the relevant project.
We ask the grid owner to inform Statnett if a final customer in the capacity queue connects a portion of their ordered capacity as regular consumption.
If the customer does not wish to pay construction contributions or enter into an agreement to cover project development costs where applicable, the customer will not receive connection or reserved capacity. The customer must then send a new order when they are ready to enter into such agreements.
The project must follow a binding progress plan to retain the reservation.
When reserving grid capacity, the grid owner/direct customer and Statnett enter into a binding progress plan. Each year, the grid owner must inform Statnett about the project's progress once a year. The grid owner sends the update to Statnett by email.
If the final customer's project is significantly delayed from the progress plan or the project is not realized, Statnett has the right to cancel the reservation. If the need for grid capacity is reduced in the project, Statnett can cancel parts of the reservation.
In the assessment, Statnett will consider how far a project has progressed, the grid capacity in the relevant area, and the needs of other actors. Until construction start, the reservation can always be cancelled if it is likely that the project's commissioning will be delayed by at least two years.
Instead of cancelling the reservation, Statnett can choose to set conditions to maintain all or part of the reservation. Such conditions may, for example, relate to progress or connection on conditions. Before the reservation is partially or completely cancelled or Statnett sets conditions, Statnett must allow affected parties to comment before a decision is made.
Signing the connection agreement and connecting to the grid
The final step in the connection process is to sign a connection agreement with the connecting grid owner, and the grid owner informs Statnett that the final customer is connected. Direct customers sign the connection agreement with Statnett.