Humber Gateway OFTO
OperationalOffshore GridGB219 MW132 kV39 km2014
Basic information
9 fieldsAlso Known As
Humber Gateway Offshore Transmission Owner · Humber Gateway OFTO Limited · Humber Gateway transmission assets · TR3 Humber Gateway OFTO · Humber Gateway offshore transmission project
Status
operational
Capacity
219 MW
Owners
Project Company
Type
offshore grid
Transmission Model
Developer Build & Transfer
Expected Life
20 years
Website
Supply Chain (9)
Project Timeline (35)
Dec 2024Regulatory Other
In December 2024, Ofgem approved an Exceptional Event claim submitted by Humber Gateway OFTO Limited relating to outages on the Humber Gateway transmission assets that were caused by a termination design flaw. As a result, Ofgem adjusted the OFTO’s reported system incentive performance by +6,395 MWh for year 8 and +15,368 MWh for year 9 of operation, recognising that these energy shortfalls stemmed from the exceptional outages rather than normal availability performance.
2016Ownership OtherStale
Following completion of the Humber Gateway offshore wind farm in 2015, ongoing work on the transmission system included preparation for the Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO) transfer of the export cable assets to Balfour Beatty, with this ownership transfer expected to take place in 2016.
Balfour Beatty
15 Sept 2016Regulatory OtherStale
Humber Gateway OFTO Limited issued its "Statement of the Basis of Transmission Owner Charges", setting out how it will charge National Grid Electricity Transmission plc for transmission services, including TO General System Charges, TO Site Specific Charges, OFTO of Last Resort Charges and other charges. The statement specifies that these charging arrangements are to be effective from 15 September 2016, following approval by the Authority under the OFTO’s transmission licence conditions.
7 Sept 2016Stake Transaction
Balfour Beatty Investments and Equitix acquired the Humber Gateway offshore transmission assets from E.ON at financial close on 7 September 2016. The transfer value was GBP 162.9 million. The assets were transferred under Ofgem's OFTO competitive tender process.
Balfour Beatty acquired from E.ON (100%)
~Jul 2015Commercial Operations Full Power
According to Ofgem’s preliminary information and ex-ante cost review, full commissioning of the Humber Gateway Transmission Assets was expected by summer 2015, following initial first power export in late 2014, meaning the offshore substation, export cables, and onshore substation would be fully operational for continuous transmission of the wind farm’s output into the National Grid.
26 Nov 2014Regulatory Other
As part of Ofgem’s ex‑ante cost review of the Humber Gateway Offshore Wind Farm Transmission Assets, Grant Thornton prepared a report dated 26 November 2014 that proposed a revised cost of the Transmission Assets of £168,729,243. This revised cost assessment, derived from detailed review of contract and cost data, was intended to inform Ofgem’s determination of the economic and efficient cost base used to set the final transfer value for the Humber Gateway OFTO regime.
Oct 2014First Power
In late 2014, the Humber Gateway transmission assets—including the offshore substation platform, two 132 kV offshore export cables, onshore underground cables, and the onshore substation at Staithes Road, Salt End—were completed and commissioned in a continuous phase, enabling the Humber Gateway offshore wind farm to export its first power to the mainland grid via these transmission links around October 2014.
20 Aug 2014Procurement Notice
On 20 August 2014, Ofgem announced that four bidder consortia had been shortlisted in the competitive OFTO Tender Round 3 process to own and operate the high‑voltage transmission links for the Westermost Rough and Humber Gateway offshore wind farms. The shortlisted groups—Balfour Beatty Equitix Consortium, Blue Transmission Consortium, Mari Energy Transmission, and Transmission Capital Partners—were invited to submit final bids for assets totalling around £400 million across the two projects, with the eventual OFTOs to receive a 20‑year regulated revenue stream subject to asset availability.
Q1 2014Onshore Cable Installation Complete
Supply and installation of the approximately 30 km long 132 kV onshore underground export cables for the Humber Gateway Transmission Assets were substantially completed in Q1 2014 by Balfour Beatty, finalising the ducted onshore cable route from the coastal joint pits to the onshore substation at Staithes Road, Salt End.
Feb 2014Financial Other
In February 2014, Ofgem’s Humber Gateway Preliminary Information Memorandum stated that the estimated costs of developing and constructing the Humber Gateway Transmission Assets were £194.7 million, defined as the Initial Transfer Value. This figure was to be used by bidders at the EPQ stage of the OFTO Tender Round 3 process and would later be refined into indicative and final transfer values once construction was complete.