​If 2025 was the year of policy design, 2026 will be the year of implementation. From connections reform to Balancing Mechanism changes, 2026 is when market and regulatory decisions materially affect battery energy storage.

Connections Reform

On Monday 8 December 2025, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) published the high-level results of the connections reform process. This provided the expected capacity by technology type across Phase 1 and Phase 2.

NESO expects to award connection agreements to more than 283 GW of generation and storage capacity by 2035, including over 80 GW of battery energy storage. NESO also plans to award agreements to a further 99 GW of demand projects.