North West electricity network set for £2 billion investment

A draft plan for £2 billion worth of investment to the region’s power grid has been produced by the company responsible for its maintenance, Electricity North West.

Due to be submitted to regulator, Ofgem, on 1st July, the draft proposal has been written following a consultation process that heard the views of 18,000 people who live or work in the region. Electricity North West is continuing to hear further feedback from local residents ahead of the submission date.

 £1.97 billion of investment between 2023 and 2028 have been proposed that will invest in the North West’s 57,000 km of overhead and underground power cables. Plans aim to reduce the frequency and duration of power outages and protect the network from storm and flood events, as well as shore up its capacity to handle an increase in low-carbon technologies, such as electric vehicle charging. The plan represents a 44% increase in investment levels compared to the current five-year period, but will add only £2.14 per year to the average household bill.

Peter Emery, chief executive of Electricity North West, said:

The challenge of delivering stretching environmental ambitions on net zero while keeping bills low and making sure we don’t leave anybody behind is tough.

“Our research has shown that 80% of customers are willing to pay an additional £9.80 to achieve our ambitious proposals – but that means 20% are not. We have worked hard to find a solution through innovation and efficiencies where we can deliver that high level of investment for just £2.14 extra a year on the average household bill.

“The result of that work would be to facilitate a greener, fairer, more prosperous and more connected future for our region – but before we finalise our plan we want to get the views of our customers and stakeholders We would encourage anybody to read through our plan and let us know what they think so we can refine it further.”

While the draft plan has been written following the contributions of members of the public via a  range of physical and virtual forums, a dedicated online community, surveys and other engagement events, Electricity North West continues to hear from customers ahead of the proposal’s 1st July submission to Ofgem. The full draft business plan and details of how to participate in the consultation can be found on the company’s website.