Opna, the verification, matching, and financing platform for critical high-voltage power equipment, has submitted its response to Ofgem's Call for Input on Demand Connections Reform.

Opna welcomed the Curate, Plan, and Connect framework as a meaningful step toward addressing the coordination failures in the UK's connections queue. In its response, Opna highlighted a dimension it believes should sit at the centre of all three pillars: the power equipment supply chain.

Key themes in Opna's submission included:

— The case for recognising supply chain commitment as an explicit milestone within Ofgem's proposed financial and readiness frameworks, ensuring that projects demonstrate a credible path to energisation, not just financial commitment alone.

— The argument that equipment access is a shared bottleneck across the entire energy transition, affecting renewable energy, grid upgrades, and electrification infrastructure equally alongside data centre connections.

— The importance of financing innovation to unlock self-build and flexible connection arrangements for mid-market developers, who face structural procurement and cash-flow barriers that regulatory reform alone cannot resolve.

— A call for strategic prioritisation to reflect projects' potential to serve as demand anchors for new renewable generation, reinforcing the case that AI infrastructure and decarbonisation are complementary, not competing, priorities.