Thousands more electricity pylons are to be built across Britain as the National Grid “rewires the nation” to hit net zero.
Households will be forced to fund the £30bn overhaul of the UK’s electricity network through extra charges on their bills before it eventually cuts greenhouse gas emissions.
Under the plan, thousands of miles of new cables will installed by 2030 to carry electricity from wind farms in Scotland or offshore to power-hungry cities, mostly in England.
The announcement, planned for weeks, comes as net zero is expected to play a major role in the forthcoming general election campaign. Labour is seeking to decarbonise by 2030, but Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, has argued that this is too fast.
John Pettigrew, National Grid’s chief executive, announced the move alongside the company’s full year results for the year to March 2024, including another £30bn to be invested in the US.
He said: “We’re announcing today a new five-year financial framework. We will be investing £60bn in the five years to the end of March 2029 – that’s nearly double the level of investment of the past five years.
“Our readiness to take this step is underscored by another year of strong financial and operational performance.”
Mr Pettigrew also announced plans to sell Grain LNG, Europe’s largest liquefied natural gas terminal on the Isle of Grain in Kent – a key national asset for bringing gas into the UK. It also plans to sell National Grid Renewables, its US onshore renewables business.
National Grid already has 17 major onshore and offshore transmission projects in the UK and is spending another $4bn on its ‘Upstate Upgrade’ in New York’s electricity transmission network.
Recent spending includes the 116 new pylons to connect the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station when it starts generating sometime after 2028.