National Grid’s New 2026 Grid Map Puts £70 Billion Upgrade Plan Under Fresh Investor Pressure
National Grid’s Distribution System Operator rolled out its 2026 Network Development Plan, laying out which sections of the electricity distribution network could require upgrades in the coming ten years—a move aimed at giving local authorities, developers and flexibility providers better visibility. The timing lands just ahead of National Grid plc’s full-year results, due next week, as investors assess the price tag on expanding the grid at scale. The timing is crucial. Britain’s power networks are about to enter RIIO-3, a five-year price-control stretch dictating what monopoly operators can earn or invest from April 2026 through March 2031. Ofgem spells out the acronym as “Revenues = Incentives + Innovation + Outputs”; in short, this is the framework that decides who pays