Called Tender Round 3 (TR3), the third OFTO includes new features designed to yield further savings for consumers.
After the completion of TR3 process, an OFTO will be appointed for each wind farm with a licence granted to own and operate the transmission assets. In return both OFTOs that are situated in the North Sea off the coast of Yorkshire will receive a guaranteed revenue stream for 20 years.
Ofgem has decided to merge the pre-qualification and qualification to tender stages into one enhanced pre-qualification stage to make the tendering process simpler.
Ofgem E-Serve managing director Robert Hull said that the offshore transmission regime has already delivered £1.4bn of new investment into the UK transmission sector.
"Billions of pounds of further investment in offshore transmission will be needed to connect the 8-15GW pipeline of offshore wind power forecast by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)," Hull added.
