Britain's fast-tracked grid
All 26 accelerated transmission projects across the three licences. Where the dates have moved, which allowances are public, what money has gone out before assessment, and where each one is in planning.
Britain is building new high-voltage lines and subsea cables to move electricity, much of it offshore wind, to where it gets used. In December 2022 Ofgem put 26 of these projects on a fast track, the Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment framework. In August 2023 it wrote each one into the licence of the company that has to build it: a delivery date and an allowance, the cost Ofgem accepts for the job. Three companies hold those licences. National Grid Electricity Transmission covers England and Wales. Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission covers the north of Scotland, SP Transmission the south.
This is the state of the programme on 17 September 2026. The 26 projects, their dates and how the dates have moved, which allowances are public, what money has gone out before assessment, where each project is in planning, who is bound, and the licence rules behind it. Second report from the web, first on one part of it. I re-issue it as the autumn decisions land.
What the programme is
Ofgem's December 2022 decision applied the framework to an initial 26 projects worth £19.8bn. On 25 August 2023 it modified all three transmission licences to add a deliverable table. Each row is an output with a delivery date and an allowance. The web holds every row of the three tables as a commitment, in the August 2023 version and in the September 2026 consolidations from Ofgem's public register, with the 2022 decision's own date for each project next to it.
Three tables, 31 rows, 26 projects. Five projects sit in two licences because they are joint ventures: Eastern Green Link 1 (NGET and SPT), Eastern Green Link 2 (NGET and SHET), Eastern Green Links 3 and 4 (all three), East Coast Onshore Phase 2 (the two Scottish owners). NGET's table has 17 rows, SHET's 10, SPT's 4. NGET calls its 17 The Great Grid Upgrade. Its May 2026 statement to the Planning Inspectorate says so in those words: 17 major projects delivered under the framework.
The register
Owners are the committing licensees. The three date columns are the 2022 decision's optimal date, the first licence date of August 2023, and the licence date today.
| Code | Output | Owners | 2022 optimal | Aug 2023 licence | Sept 2026 licence | Allowance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E2DC | Eastern Green Link 1, Torness to Hawthorn Pit HVDC | NGET, SPT | 2027 | 31 Dec 2028 | 31 Dec 2028 | decided |
| HWUP | Hackney, Tottenham and Waltham Cross uprating | NGET | 2027 | 31 Dec 2028 | 31 Dec 2028 | not published |
| OPN2 | Yorkshire GREEN, Norton, Osbaldwick and Monk Fryston | NGET | 2027 | 31 Dec 2028 | 31 Dec 2028 | decided |
| BTNO | Bramford to Twinstead | NGET | 2028 | 31 Dec 2029 | 31 Dec 2029 | not published |
| DWNO | Denny to Wishaw 400 kV | SPT | 2028 | 31 Dec 2029 | 31 Dec 2029* | not published |
| EDEU | Brinsworth, Chesterfield and High Marnham | NGET | 2028 | 31 Dec 2029 | 31 Dec 2029 | not published |
| PTC1 | Pentir to Trawsfynydd cable replacement | NGET | 2028 | 31 Dec 2029 | 31 Dec 2029 | not published |
| TKRE | Tilbury to Grain and Tilbury to Kingsnorth | NGET | 2028 | 31 Dec 2029 | 31 Dec 2029 | not published |
| E4D3 | Eastern Green Link 2, Peterhead to Drax HVDC | NGET, SHET | 2029 | 31 Dec 2030 | 31 Dec 2030 | decided |
| PTNO | North Wales reinforcement | NGET | 2029 | 31 Dec 2030 | 31 Dec 2030 | not published |
| AENC | Norwich to Tilbury, north East Anglia circuit | NGET | 2030 | 31 Dec 2031 | 31 Dec 2031 | not published |
| ATNC | Norwich to Tilbury, south East Anglia circuit | NGET | 2030 | 31 Dec 2031 | 31 Dec 2031 | not published |
| BBNC | Beauly to Blackhillock 400 kV double circuit | SHET | 2030 | 31 Dec 2031 | 31 Dec 2031 | not published |
| BDUP | Beauly to Denny uprate to 400 kV | SHET | 2030 | 31 Dec 2031 | 31 Dec 2031 | not published |
| BIDC | Arnish to Beauly HVDC (Western Isles) | SHET | 2030 | 31 Dec 2031 | 31 Dec 2031 | not published |
| BLN4 | Beauly to Loch Buidhe 400 kV | SHET | 2030 | 31 Dec 2031 | 31 Dec 2031 | not published |
| BPNC | Blackhillock to Peterhead 400 kV double circuit | SHET | 2030 | 31 Dec 2031 | 31 Dec 2031 | not published |
| CGNC | North Humber to High Marnham (Creyke Beck to the south Humber) | NGET | 2030 | 31 Dec 2031 | 31 Dec 2031 | not published |
| EDN2 | Chesterfield to Willington (formerly Ratcliffe-on-Soar) | NGET | 2030 | 31 Dec 2031 | 31 Dec 2031 | not published |
| PSDC | Spittal to Peterhead HVDC | SHET | 2030 | 31 Dec 2031 | 31 Dec 2031 | not published |
| SCD1 | Sea Link, Suffolk to Kent HVDC | NGET | 2030 | 31 Dec 2031 | 31 Dec 2031 | not published |
| SLU4 | Loch Buidhe to Spittal 400 kV | SHET | 2030 | 31 Dec 2031 | 31 Dec 2031 | not published |
| TKUP | East Coast Onshore 400 kV Phase 2 | SHET, SPT | 2030 | 31 Dec 2031 | 31 Dec 2031 | not published |
| GWNC | Grimsby West to Walpole | NGET | 2030 | 31 Dec 2031 | 31 Dec 2033 | not published |
| E4L5 | Eastern Green Link 3, Peterhead to West Norfolk HVDC | NGET, SHET, SPT | 2030 | 31 Dec 2031 | 31 Aug 2034 | not published |
| TGDC | Eastern Green Link 4, East Scotland to West Norfolk HVDC | NGET, SHET, SPT | 2030 | 31 Dec 2031 | 31 Aug 2034 | not published |
*Denny to Wishaw's date comes from the table Ofgem annexed to its 12 May 2026 decision. The September 2026 SP Transmission licence does not carry SPT's rows in its own table. See the licences section.
Dates
Redesigned in December 2025, and the only outputs to have moved since 2023
- 31 December 2028E2DCHWUPOPN23
- 31 December 2029BTNODWNOEDEUPTC1TKRE5
- 31 December 2030E4D3PTNO2
- 31 December 2031AENCATNCBBNCBDUPBIDCBLN4BPNCCGNCEDN2PSDCSCD1SLU4TKUP13
- 31 December 2033GWNC1
- 31 August 2034E4L5TGDC2
Source: UK electricity grid map, 17 September 2026
Ten of the 26 are due by the end of 2030, inside the current price control, which ends on 31 March 2031. Thirteen are due on the last day of 2031. The last three carry dates Ofgem set on 9 December 2025 after the owners asked for a scope change, consulted on from 11 September 2025.
Source: UK electricity grid map, 17 September 2026
The 2022 decision gave each project a year under the heading Optimal Date, with a note that some of those years were earlier than the owners' own estimates. When the tables went into the licences in August 2023, all 26 got a delivery date one year after the optimal date, at the end of that year. Since August 2023 only the three redesigned projects have moved. The other 23 still carry their 2023 date.
The licence adds a year on top. The licensee must deliver no later than 12 months after the date in the table.
Allowances
Three outputs carry a figure.
| Output | Printed in the licence | Project assessment decision | Price base | Decision date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Green Link 1 (E2DC) | £2,492,205,963 | £2,001,104,429 | GBP | 15 Nov 2024 |
| Eastern Green Link 2 (E4D3) | £4,295,638,278 | £3,449,161,471 | GBP | 13 Aug 2024 |
| Yorkshire GREEN (OPN2) | £368,126,448 | £295,585,307 | 2018/19 prices | 8 Nov 2024 |
Source: UK electricity grid map, 17 September 2026
Twenty-three of the 26 have no published allowance. For each, the licence column reads "Have the values given in the ASTI Confidential Annex." The licence defines that annex as a confidential document Ofgem issues to the licensee. A figure becomes public when Ofgem publishes a project assessment decision, and a licensee can only apply for one once all its main planning applications are in. Three projects have got there. In each case the figure printed in the licence is higher than the figure in the decision. Both are above. Nothing in the web says what the difference is, so I do not explain it here. Two more assessments have been consulted on, Bramford to Twinstead and Hackney. Sea Link's is under consultation. No consultation figure appears in this report.
Funding ahead of assessment
Before assessment a licensee can apply for early construction funding. The licence caps it at 20 percent of the forecast cost in the unpublished annex unless Ofgem directs otherwise. Ofgem has decided such funding for 22 of the 26. The percentages below are Ofgem's words. Where a decision gives the share against both the 2022 licence cost base and the owner's updated forecast, both are shown as printed.
| Code | Latest decision | Date |
|---|---|---|
| HWUP | ECF approved at 20.2% of total forecast project cost | 13 Aug 2024 |
| DWNO | ECF round 2 approved: cumulative 55% of licence project cost (24% of SPT's updated cost forecast) | 12 May 2026 |
| EDEU | ECF approved in full: 104% of the licence project cost estimate, 25% of the updated project cost estimate | 3 Feb 2026 |
| PTC1 | further ECF approved: 14% requested on top of 6% previously approved, up to the 20% cap (PTC1 and PTNO as a single construction project) | 3 Feb 2026 |
| TKRE | ECF approved; minded-to position of 19.29% of total forecast project cost maintained | 21 Oct 2024 |
| PTNO | further ECF approved: 14% requested on top of 6% previously approved, up to the 20% cap (PTC1 and PTNO as a single construction project) | 3 Feb 2026 |
| AENC | ECF allowance amended to 65.93% of the AENC project value listed in the Confidential Annex (combined Norwich-Tilbury ECF 45.5% of the AENC and ATNC value) | 3 Feb 2026 |
| ATNC | ECF allowance amended to 39% of the ATNC project value listed in the Confidential Annex (no ECF previously granted for ATNC) | 3 Feb 2026 |
| BBNC | ECF round 3 approved: cumulative 14% of licence project cost (5% of SHET's updated cost forecast) | 12 May 2026 |
| BDUP | ECF round 3 approved: cumulative 44% of licence project cost (10% of SHET's updated cost forecast) | 12 May 2026 |
| BIDC | ECF round 3 approved: cumulative 23% of licence project cost (9% of SHET's updated cost forecast) | 12 May 2026 |
| BLN4 | ECF round 3 approved: cumulative 30% of licence project cost (7% of SHET's updated cost forecast) | 12 May 2026 |
| BPNC | ECF round 3 approved: cumulative 27% of licence project cost (7% of SHET's updated cost forecast) | 12 May 2026 |
| CGNC | ECF approved up to the 20% cap of project cost as set out in NGET's licence | 3 Feb 2026 |
| EDN2 | ECF approved up to the 20% cap of project cost as set out in NGET's licence | 3 Feb 2026 |
| PSDC | ECF round 3 approved: cumulative 19% of licence project cost (9% of SHET's updated cost forecast) | 12 May 2026 |
| SCD1 | ECF approved at 48% of the forecast project cost of SCD1 in the ASTI Confidential Annex (27% of the updated cost forecast) | 19 Nov 2025 |
| SLU4 | ECF round 3 approved: cumulative 34% of licence project cost (6% of SHET's updated cost forecast) | 12 May 2026 |
| TKUP | ECF round 1 (SPT portion) approved: 53% of licence project cost (application 72%) | 12 May 2026 |
| GWNC | ECF approved up to the 20% cap, calculated on the updated total project costs after the material scope change | 3 Feb 2026 |
| E4L5 | ECF approved at 8% of the updated total forecast project cost | 9 Dec 2025 |
| TGDC | ECF approved at 13% of the updated total forecast project cost | 9 Dec 2025 |
The four without a decision are the three already assessed and Bramford to Twinstead. Twelve of the latest shares are above the 20 percent cap on the 2022 base, by direction. Ten decisions also give the share against the owner's updated forecast, 5 to 27 percent. The gap between the two shares is the only public measure of how far the forecasts have moved from the 2022 bases.
Consenting
Eleven outputs are on the Planning Inspectorate's register of nationally significant projects, across nine project pages, each with a downloadable boundary file. Fifteen are not. Six of NGET's go through councils and the marine licensing body. The nine Scottish outputs are consented under Scottish law, which I have not yet searched.
| Code | Register reference | Stage | Boundary file |
|---|---|---|---|
| HWUP | EN020009 | post-decision | yes |
| OPN2 | EN020024 | post-decision | yes |
| BTNO | EN020002 | post-decision | yes |
| AENC | EN020027 | recommendation | yes |
| ATNC | EN020027 | recommendation | yes |
| CGNC | EN020034 | pre-application | yes |
| EDN2 | EN0210001 | pre-application | yes |
| SCD1 | EN020026 | decision | yes |
| GWNC | EN020036 | pre-application | yes |
| E4L5 | EN0210003 | pre-application | yes |
| TGDC | EN0210003 | pre-application | yes |
Two statutory dates fall this autumn. The Secretary of State's decision on Sea Link is due by 30 October 2026. The examining authority's recommendation on Norwich to Tilbury is due by 10 November 2026. Hackney runs on a 2014 order that NGET applied to amend in May 2026. Yorkshire GREEN was consented in March 2024, Bramford to Twinstead in September 2024.
Names, parties and structure
The licence names each output by code and description. The owners and the register use project names. All 26 are tied to a project name by an Ofgem document. Ofgem renamed Chesterfield to Ratcliffe-on-Soar as Chesterfield to Willington in February 2026. The Western Isles link got the code BIDC in Ofgem's decisions from November 2025; the licence still prints no code for it.
Thirteen outputs bind NGET alone, seven SHET alone, one SPT alone, five are joint. Counterparties on file where a contract or designation is public: Prysmian on Eastern Green Links 1 and 2, Hitachi Energy and Royal BAM on Eastern Green Link 2, NKT as preferred supplier on Eastern Green Link 3.
Source: UK electricity grid map, 17 September 2026
The licences themselves
Forty-two facts hold the rules, each quoted from the September 2026 NGET licence with its paragraph number, and from the 2023 modification where the wording matches. The allowance is the Appendix 1 figure. Delivery is due within 12 months of the table date. Early construction funding is capped at 20 percent unless directed. Assessment follows the planning applications. The cost-adjustment threshold is 5 percent, with 1 percent for Eastern Green Link 1 and 0.75 percent for Eastern Green Link 2 added in 2026. The delivery incentive rewards or penalises against a target date, with a penalty exemption of zero days. The condition was numbered 3.41 in 2023 and is 3.21 now; the licence's own definitions still cite the old numbers.
Two things about the published documents I record as facts. SHET's September 2026 licence prints 31 August 2034 for Eastern Green Link 3. The table Ofgem annexed to its May 2026 decision still printed 31 December 2031. The current licence settles it. SP Transmission's September 2026 licence prints the ten SHET rows in the table that should hold SPT's four outputs. SPT's own outputs appear only in the incentive table: Denny to Wishaw 31 December 2029, Eastern Green Link 1 31 December 2028, Eastern Green Link 4 31 August 2034, East Coast Onshore Phase 2 31 December 2031. I hold no delivery date for SPT's rows from that document and say so.
What changed since the September web report
The 13 September web report held 17 outputs from one licence, three public allowances and 14 allowance gaps, each recording a search of the licence alone. On 17 September I added 688 facts, 80 sources, 9 commitments, 2 instruments and 46 events: the nine Scottish outputs, the 2022 and 2023 dates for all 26, the two current Scottish licences, one more decided allowance, the funding decisions, the consent register and its events, the name ties, and the licence rules. The web now holds 2,035 live facts, 312 sources, 55 commitments, 61 events and 478 recorded gaps.
What to watch
Sea Link's decision, due by 30 October 2026. Norwich to Tilbury's recommendation, due by 10 November 2026. The assessment decisions for Bramford to Twinstead and Hackney, both consulted on and pending, and Sea Link's, under consultation. The first assessment submission from a Scottish owner; none of the nine has one. Each changes a row above. I re-issue the report when one does.
Sources
- Ofgem: the NGET, SHET and SPT electricity transmission licence Special Conditions, September 2026 consolidations (Electronic Public Register); the decision of 25 August 2023 modifying the three licences for ASTI and its three annexes; the decision on accelerating onshore electricity transmission investment of 15 December 2022; project assessment decisions for Eastern Green Link 2 (13 August 2024), Eastern Green Link 1 (15 November 2024) and Yorkshire GREEN (8 November 2024); early and pre-construction funding decisions for the NGET outputs (2023 to 2026) and the Scottish outputs (2024 to 2026); the material scope change decision of 9 December 2025 and its consultation of 11 September 2025; the SPT licence modification notice of 5 December 2025.
- Planning Inspectorate: the national infrastructure register pages for the eleven outputs on it, the register's applications download, and the decision notice for the North London reinforcement; DESNZ decision letters for Yorkshire GREEN and Bramford to Twinstead.
- National Grid Electricity Transmission plc: Annual Report and Accounts 2025/26; the supporting statement of May 2026 to the Planning Inspectorate; project pages and press releases on nationalgrid.com. Prysmian, SSEN Transmission and NKT publications for the counterparties.
Every figure is a promoted fact in the web, each with its fact id, source and locator behind it, drawn from the 54 documents cited.