United Kingdom – October 16, 2026 -- National Grid is advancing a portfolio of transmission projects that includes a seven-year, £1 billion programme to rewire South London through deep underground tunnels, begun in Spring 2020, and several 2 GW high voltage direct current (HVDC) links between Scotland and England.
Eastern Green Links add 2 GW corridors from Scotland to England
EGL1 is a 2 GW HVDC link between the Torness area in East Lothian, Scotland, and Hawthorn Pit in County Durham. EGL2, also rated at 2 GW, will run from Peterhead in Aberdeenshire to Drax in North Yorkshire. EGL3 and EGL4 are intended to raise network capability to connect new offshore wind farms.
National Grid Electricity Transmission is also developing Sea Link, a planned high voltage undersea connection between Suffolk and Kent. Separately, a project to strengthen the Scotland-England network would connect new energy sources in the Scottish Borders.
Overhead line upgrades target North-Midlands and East Anglia capacity
One proposal would uprate existing 275kV overhead lines to carry a 400kV transmission load and add three new substations. The Chesterfield to Willington project is meant to add capacity between the North and the Midlands. National Grid says a separate regional reinforcement is needed to carry clean power proposed in East Anglia.
Other proposals include a new high voltage overhead line in Lincolnshire between Grimsby and Walpole, with new pylons and substations. A further line would link a new substation at Creyke Beck, north of Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Carlisle to Newcastle, an upgrade between the North West and North East of England, remains at an early stage of development.
Near Navenby in Lincolnshire, the company is investigating sites for a new substation to connect several proposed solar projects.
Refurbishment programmes cover lines dating to 1971
The Drax to Thornton line in Yorkshire has operated since 1971 and is being refurbished. National Grid is also refurbishing the 15km Kearsley to Whitegate line, which has 45 pylons. From October 2022 it is working with contractor Balfour Beatty on a 40km (25 mile) stretch of overhead line starting at Nursling.
The Grain to Tilbury project would replace the 1960s Thames Cable Tunnel. National Grid says the Littlebrook substation in Dartford is no longer fit for purpose and needs a new facility.
Rail electrification and local projects draw grid investment
To support Network Rail's decarbonisation, National Grid is installing a 400/25kV Supergrid transformer at Bramley substation and connecting it to a new trackside substation. The company is also working with the North East Combined Authority and the Port of Tyne to remove the restriction posed by overhead lines crossing the River Tyne at Wallsend and Jarrow.
A Landscape Enhancement Initiative within the VIP project plans to use up to £11 million of an Ofgem provision.