Offshore Transmission Owners (OFTOs) operate and maintain offshore

electric power transmission Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is ...

infrastructure in Great Britain, delivering electrical power from

offshore wind farms Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of ca ...

to the National Grid. OFTOs may design and build this transmission infrastructure, but in most cases wind farm developers construct the electrical transmission assets and then sell them to an OFTO once complete.Economics of Offshore Wind Power: Challenges and Policy Considerations
By Rahmatallah Poudineh, Craig Brown, Benjamin Foley,

Operation

In the British electricity market, different functions of the electricity system are separated, with this practice beginning in the 1980s. The activities of generators, transmission operators, system operators, distribution operators and suppliers are separately licensed by

Ofgem The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) is the government regulator for the electricity and downstream natural gas markets in Great Britain. It was formed by the merger of the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER) and Office of G ...

, with a single business unable to perform multiple functions due to UK Competition Law. The groundwork for the offshore transmission regime was laid by the

Energy Act 2004 The Energy Act 2004 (c. 20) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerned with nuclear power, renewable and sustainable energy and energy regulation. Royal assent was granted on 22 July 2004. Part 1 Chapter 1 Section 10 Section ...

, with the first offshore transmission license being awarded in 2011. , all the offshore transmission infrastructure in Great Britain has been built by wind farm developers, who are then required to sell their transmission assets to a separately licensed Offshore Transmission Owner. The divestment must take place before the Generator Commissioning Clause date, on which the exemption from this requirement lapses. Divestment is managed via a regulated tender process administered by the energy regulator

. Qualifying bidders are required to conduct due diligence before submitting a bid to purchase the assets for transfer value determined by Ofgem and receive their bid Tender Revenue Stream (TRS) for a fixed license period. Ofgem then appoints a Preferred Bidder who negotiates the purchase terms with the Developer, after which Ofgem awards a transmission license and the transfer takes place.

Offshore transmission operators

References

External links

Offshore Transmission (OFTO) regime, now fully in place, set to achieve further savings
* https://www.4coffshore.com/news/race-bank-ofto-merger-approval-nid11189.html * https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/electric-power/041219-five-bidders-shortlisted-for-uk-offshore-transmission-assets * https://www.offshorewind.biz/2019/04/12/five-remain-in-gbp-2-7-billion-ofto-race-in-uk/ {{energy-stub Energy companies