National Grid Electricity System Operator

The complainant requested copies of CION assessments carried out in respect of several connections to the national electricity grid. National Grid Electricity System Operator relied on Regulation 12(5)(d) (confidentiality of proceedings) and Regulation 12(5)(e) (commercial confidentiality) to withhold the requested information – although it later admitted that it did not hold two of the assessments. The Commissioner’s decision is that NGESO was entitled to rely on both Regulation 12(5)(d) and Regulation 12(5)(e) of the EIR and that the public interest favours maintaining these exceptions both individually and in aggregate. In respect of the SCD1 and SCD2 interconnectors, the Commissioner accepts that NGESO does not hold the requested information and is thus entitled to rely on Regulation 12(4)(a) of the EIR to not deal with that part of the request. However, as NGESO failed to inform the complainant, within 20 working days, that it did not hold this particular information, it breached Regulation 14 of the EIR.
The Commissioner does not require further steps.