LONDON, June 26, 2026, 16:05 (BST)
- National Grid traded at 1,252.50p/1,253.50p, gaining 0.04%. The FTSE 100 slipped 0.35% late in London.
- Ofgem named 16 long-duration storage projects with a combined 7,645 MW. Its project table shows 67% of that capacity sits in northern Scotland.
- Storage could ease grid constraints, which is an indirect factor for the stock, but National Grid’s own plan sticks with at least £70 billion in capex.
National Grid plc (LON:NG) was flat in late trading Friday in London, quoted at 1,252.50p to sell and 1,253.50p to buy, up just 0.04%. FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) was down. For shareholders, Ofgem’s new list mattered more, with 7,645 MW of long-duration electricity storage named in the regulator’s first minded-to awards.
Ofgem’s project table puts 5,100 MW—roughly two-thirds of the awarded capacity—in northern Scotland. National Grid isn’t named as a sponsor. The stock link is down to congestion, connection queues, and the network investment investors hope the company can earn on.
Ofgem said the portfolio may bring costs down by taking strain off the transmission and distribution networks and cutting back the need for higher-priced infrastructure or extra constraint management. That touches a nerve for the National Grid bull story—rapid asset growth, but with a regulator still checking if all network spending is justified.
Britain’s National Energy System Operator pushed a system stress test this week, requesting extra generation capacity from suppliers late Thursday. The request was for Friday evening as hot weather pushed up demand and reduced spare supply. The operator said there was no risk to overall power supply. This was the second notice like this in a week.
NESO, not National Grid, is in charge of Britain’s electricity system now. National Grid closed the sale of the Electricity System Operator to the UK government on Oct. 1, 2024. So the notice on Friday didn’t come from the listed company.
National Grid’s story right now is the build-out. CEO Zoë Yujnovich in May called the current programme the “largest investment programme in our history,” targeting at least £70 billion over five years. National Grid put out record capital investment of £11.6 billion for 2025/26.
National Grid’s five-year plan calls for asset growth running near 10% annually, with underlying EPS growing 8%-10%. For 2026/27, the company said underlying EPS will be up 13%-15%, starting from a 78.0p base.
Storage could go either way for the stock. Extra storage can soak up power when there’s a surplus and put it back on the grid when things get tight. But National Grid’s RIIO-T3 plan still calls for 19 GW more demand, with 10 GW linked to over 30 new data-centre projects.
Ofgem director general for infrastructure Akshay Kaul said the assets are needed to “maintain secure supply during periods of cold, hot, still or cloudy weather.” That line matched this week, as high temperatures prompted a summer margin test that usually comes with winter cold snaps. Ofgem
National Grid’s final dividend of 32.14p is set for payment on July 23, with the shares having gone ex-dividend back on May 28. Ofgem’s storage consultation wraps up Aug. 7, and final awards are seen coming later in 2026.
