Independent Connection Provider (ICP) in Dorset & the South

No. The network operator must provide the point of connection and carry out any reinforcement of its existing network, but the design and construction of the new connection itself is contestable and can be carried out by an accredited ICP such as Dorset Electrical Solutions.

The DNO (Distribution Network Operator) owns and operates the regional electricity network; in Dorset and Hampshire that is SSEN, with National Grid Electricity Distribution to the west. An ICP (Independent Connection Provider) is an accredited contractor that designs and builds new connections. An IDNO (Independent Distribution Network Operator) is a licensed company that can own and operate the new network once it is built. We work with all three.

We can carry out the contestable works: the design, trenching and ducting, cable laying, substation installation and jointing. The network operator keeps the non-contestable works: assessing the impact on its existing network, any upstream reinforcement, approving the point of connection and work on its existing assets. We coordinate both so you only deal with us.

Once energised, the new assets are adopted by the network operator or an IDNO under an adoption agreement, and they maintain them in exactly the same way as any other connection. Where a customer chooses to keep ownership of a private HV network, we can provide an ongoing maintenance contract.

It depends on the size of the connection, the capacity available locally and how quickly the legals and wayleaves come together. Smaller low-voltage connections are typically measured in weeks; high-voltage connections with a new substation in months. See the timescales table above, and we give you a realistic programme at the feasibility stage.

There is no standard price: it depends on the capacity, the distance to the point of connection, whether a substation is needed and what the network operator charges for its non-contestable works. We give a budget figure at feasibility and a fixed price for our works once the design is approved. Asking us for a budget figure costs nothing.

We do, as part of the project. The meter itself is installed by your electricity supplier’s meter operator, so we register the MPAN and coordinate the supplier and meter operator so that the meter is fitted for energisation day.

As early as possible, ideally before planning or before you commit to a site. The available capacity and the route of the connection can change the layout of a scheme, and an early feasibility check is inexpensive compared with a redesign later.

Yes. If you have a network operator quote, send it to us. We can usually accept the non-contestable element and price the contestable works separately, or advise if the quote is best accepted as it stands.

Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire, including Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch, Wimborne, Ferndown, Ringwood, Salisbury and Southampton, in both the SSEN and National Grid Electricity Distribution areas.

NERS (the National Electricity Registration Scheme) is the accreditation the network operators require before an independent contractor can design or build connections that will be adopted onto their networks. It is run by LRQA and covers specific activities and voltage levels, and any provider can be checked on the public NERS register.

Contestable works are the parts of a new connection that an accredited ICP can carry out instead of the network operator: design, trenching and ducting, cable laying, substation installation and jointing. Non-contestable works, such as reinforcing the existing network and approving the point of connection, stay with the network operator.