{"id":388681,"date":"2025-07-14T10:34:58","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T08:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=388681"},"modified":"2025-07-14T10:34:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T08:34:59","slug":"80-billion-needed-for-grid-upgrades-in-next-five-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=388681","title":{"rendered":"\u00a380 Billion Needed For Grid Upgrades In Next Five\u00a0Years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Paul Homewood<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OFGEM have just announced the first tranche of investment in Britain\u2019s grid upgrades needed to hit 2030 renewable targets.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ofgem has today (1 July) given the provisional green light to an initial \u00a324bn investment programme to enhance energy security while enabling the transmission of more clean energy from renewable sources. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over \u00a315bn will ensure the continued safe operation of Great Britain\u2019s gas transmission and distribution networks, making sure they deliver safe and secure supplies of gas to households and businesses across the UK. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An initial \u00a38.9bn investment is being committed to Britain\u2019s high-voltage electricity network, with a further \u00a31.3bn ready to go \u2013 to power the biggest expansion of the electricity grid since the 1960s. The draft settlement is the first step in an estimated \u00a380bn investment programme boosting electricity network capacity, protecting UK households from the volatile international gas markets that caused the massive fluctuations in energy bills in recent years. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The investment in our grid, which will rise to around four times the current spending levels, will allow for 80 transmission projects and all associated works right across the country to be completed within five years. This will significantly increase the grid\u2019s capacity, through new power lines, substations and other technologies, to handle the flow of electricity from new renewable sources. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These projects, which are also vital for driving growth, will upgrade over 4400km of overhead lines and deliver 3500km of new circuits, including investments offshore, doubling the total build in the last 10 years. It means up to 126 GW of clean power generation will be connected to the grid by 2030 alongside additional flexible storage and technologies, enough to power millions of households with clean, stable and secure energy. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ofgem CEO Jonathan Brearley said:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBritain\u2019s reliance on imported gas has left us at the mercy of volatile international gas prices which during the energy crisis would have caused bills to rise as high as \u00a34000 for an average household without government support. Even today the price cap can move up or down by hundreds of pounds with little we can do about it. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis record investment will deliver a homegrown energy system that is better for Britain and better for customers. It will ensure the system has greater resilience against shocks from volatile gas prices we don\u2019t control. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese 80 projects are a long-term insurance policy against threats to Britain\u2019s energy security and the instability of prices. By bringing online dozens of homegrown, renewable generation sites and modernising our energy system to the one we will need in the future we can boost growth and give ourselves more control over prices too. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDoing nothing is not an option and will cost consumers more \u2013 this is critical national infrastructure. The sooner we build the network we need, and invest to strengthen our resilience, the lower the cost for bill payers will be in the future. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This critical investment covering upgrade and expansion of the electricity grid, maintenance and also gas depreciation in its entirety is estimated to increase network charges on bills by \u00a3104 by 2031. This includes \u00a330 for the gas networks and \u00a374 for the electricity grid. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around half of this investment, including \u00a330 on gas networks, is needed for the gas and electricity grids to maintain safety, resilience, and reliability. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The remainder, around \u00a352, will be used to expand the capacity of the electricity grid to deal with the rising demands of a more electrified energy system, as we move away from gas. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This investment (\u00a352) alone is expected to lead to around \u00a380 of savings for consumers by 2031 compared to not investing by reducing constraint costs (money paid to wind farms to switch off because the grid is unable to transmit their power output) and making better use of our clean renewable energy so we are not having to pay for expensive gas plants to serve demand. So bills are expected to be around \u00a330 lower than they would have been had this investment in upgrading and expanding the electricity network not been made. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taken all together the net cost of these investments on bills amounts to around \u00a324 a year, or less than 40p per week, by March 2031, although this does not take into account the overall benefits of reaching clean power that can reduce bills. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u00a330 increase in gas network charges on bills by 2031 would be necessary in all scenarios in order to maintain safety, resilience, and reliability in our gas networks. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.ofgem.gov.uk\/press-release\/ofgem-approves-initial-ps24-billion-operate-and-maintain-critical-gas-networks-and-upgrade-britains-electricity-supergrid<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

OFGEM say household electricity bills will rise by \u00a374 a year, as a result of this \u00a380 billion upgrade. That equated to \u00a36.6 billion a year, given that non residential consumers use about 60% of total electricity. OFGEM say they are assuming return on capital of 6%, which implies depreciation costs of 2.5% over 40 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a36.6 billion works out at about \u00a322\/MWh, four times  NESO\u2019s projection of just \u00a35\/MWh, which also includes constraint costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
https:\/\/notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com\/2024\/12\/13\/milibands-300-energy-saving-is-smoke-mirrors\/<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But extraordinarily, the NESO Clean Power 2030 Report did not take grid upgrade costs into account. The report states:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Neither is there any costings for the upgrading of local distribution networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The figure it offer for \u201cGrid expansion and constraint costs\u201d only reflects the increase in constraint costs from \u00a32.8 bn to \u00a33.7 bn a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To the \u00a380 billion mentioned, we can another \u00a316 billion already spent or committed to by the National Grid<\/a> between 2021 and 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the spending won\u2019t stop in 2030. OFGEM note these current plans will cater for 126 GW of \u201cclean\u201d power, in line with NESO\u2019s plans. But buildout of renewables will still need pursued rapidly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BBC<\/a> reported a year ago that another \u00a358bn is for work needed between 2030 and 2035.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Add the lot up and you are looking at \u00a3154 billion, which will add \u00a313 billion to our bills each year. None of this expenditure would be needed without the expansion of renewable energy and the increased demand for electricity necessitated by Net Zero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In true Orwellian double speak, OFGEM\u2019s Jonathan Brearley tells us that spending \u00a3100 billions of your money will make you better off!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OFGEM have just announced the first tranche of investment in Britain\u2019s grid upgrades needed to hit 2030 renewable targets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":388690,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691836583,691821808,691831352,691818154,691820065,691819094],"class_list":{"0":"post-388681","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-britains-grid-upgrades","9":"tag-energy-security","10":"tag-neso","11":"tag-net-zero","12":"tag-ofgem","13":"tag-renewable-green-energy","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0AQOREe0R-K5X3QJLk3pNdD1mVDpVMNHlKotyjn5pBUF5DHSkMqD7MbCxGhsm3QFqbZ6yVWzaPf-5uyXfBxEwAAozF-LodreihU07Lo31TSte9R_X2m05wEz8kHeKysGpX_4TIqSAYTCRwbsLQLX5NbJHcXF5Xw-1.jpeg?fit=1280%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1D73","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":367908,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=367908","url_meta":{"origin":388681,"position":0},"title":"Factchecking BBC Verify\u2019s Energy Bill\u00a0Claims","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"27\/02\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The headline alone gives a hint that the article itself is a pile of misleading rubbish! 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