Ofgem gives 100% endorsement for our innovation projects

The projects were originally awarded funding by Ofgem through its Network Innovation Competition (NIC), with a portion of the investment being met by ourselves.

Now we’ve completed both projects, Ofgem has assessed them and described them as well-managed, cost-effective and confirmed they were delivered on time. The 100% SDR award means our full investment will be returned to us. 

We’re thrilled that the success of these two flagship innovation projects has been recognised in this way by our regulator.

Through Project GRAID (Gas Robotic Agile Inspection Device), we designed a robot that could inspect previously unreachable parts of the high-pressure network. It proved its strength and endurance through punishing offline tests, then came through trials on the live network with flying colours.

It’s a great example of how we’re combining the best transformational engineering with smart technology. 

Project CLoCC (Customer Low Cost Connections) began its bold journey in 2015. Its aim was to reduce connection costs to the National Transmission System (NTS) by half and cut the time involved from three years to less than one.

The hard work yielded an online customer connections portal, a range of standardised connection designs and new commercial processes that reduce barriers to connecting for gas customers.

From the end of October 2018, when the project closed, our network became a more viable option for a whole new generation of gas customers.

The success of the two projects isn’t the end of the story though – we’re working hard to integrate them into the day-to-day running of our business, helping us work smarter and more cost-effectively.

We’re passionate about innovation in Gas Transmission. For us, the real success of projects like CLoCC and GRAID is the value they’ll bring to our customers, stakeholders and the wider industry.