LONDON, March 6, 2026, 08:55 GMT
National Grid Plc has inked close to 3 billion pounds in contracts for Eastern Green Link 3, putting Hitachi Energy in charge of converter stations and awarding NKT the cable system. The company is calling this Britain’s largest electricity transmission project. Spanning 690 kilometers between Scotland and England, the link is expected to deliver enough power for around 2 million homes. 1
This move takes one of Britain’s major grid upgrades out of the negotiation phase and into signed supply contracts, coming just days after National Grid bumped up its spending and profit forecasts. Back on March 2, the company stretched its five-year financial plan to at least £70 billion through fiscal 2031, agreed to Ofgem’s RIIO-T3 price-control settlement—the next five-year playbook for returns and capex on its UK transmission grid—and raised its earnings per share growth target for FY27 to between 13% and 15%. 2
Britain is targeting a mostly decarbonised power sector by 2030, but to get there, the country needs more north-south grid muscle to handle all that offshore wind. National Grid expects EGL3 to help trim constraint costs — those are the payouts when wind farms have to hold back because the grid can’t absorb the extra power. Ofgem has already signed off on fast-tracked funding for projects like EGL3 and EGL4. 1
Hitachi Energy lands the job for HVDC converter stations in Aberdeenshire and West Norfolk, with NKT tapped to handle both subsea and underground cables. Utilities lean on HVDC for moving electricity over large distances since it’s more efficient than standard alternating current lines when it comes to power loss. 1
Mark Brackley, who leads the EGL3 project at National Grid, described the contract signing as a “major milestone.” Chief Executive Zoe Yujnovich, speaking earlier this week, emphasized the importance of “modern, resilient networks” for economic growth, with the company gearing up for increased investment in Britain and the U.S. Northeast. 1
National Grid emphasized the importance of “a strong and resilient supply chain” as it announced the deals. For NKT, this cable package marks the largest project award it’s ever landed. 1
National Grid isn’t alone in getting a jump on UK network expansion. SSEN Transmission is also working on EGL3, and just last month, National Grid Electricity Transmission and SP Energy Networks tapped Prysmian for a 2 billion-pound cable contract tied to the separate Eastern Green Link 4 project. 3
Risks haven’t gone anywhere. For the English portion, a development consent order—basically the planning sign-off required for big UK infrastructure—still hangs in the balance. The project filing puts the application on the calendar for later this year. If it clears approval from the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, construction could start in 2028, aiming for energisation in 2033. 3
There’s still a risk for bills and delivery. Back in December, Ofgem put the price tag on a sweeping 28 billion-pound grid upgrade, estimating it would tack on roughly 108 pounds to the average household network charge by 2031. The regulator does see a bright side, expecting those upgrades to deliver about 80 pounds a year in savings. But National Grid isn’t ignoring hurdles: planning, regulatory, counterparty, and supply-chain issues all remain potential snags. 4
National Grid stuck to its FY26 outlook, saying performance was still tracking forecasts. The company also flagged that its expanded strategy could push group assets to roughly 115 billion pounds by FY31. 2
