An energy firm has set out a £10.6 billion five-year plan that it says will lower household energy bills and help the country meet its green energy targets.
SP Energy Networks, which is a subsidiary of ScottishPower, is submitting plans to energy regulator Ofgem for the period April 2026 to March 2031, in which it is pledging to spend £10.6 billion on new and upgraded transmission infrastructure in central and southern Scotland.
This will include, the firm said, 12 new transmission substations, 450km of upgraded existing circuits, 87km of upgraded overhead lines and 35km of underground cables, all of which it said will help increase the country’s power transmission capacity.
Making this crucial investment now will drive a positive impact that will help to stabilise and lower consumer energy bills in the longer term
The plan also includes a programme of investment to make the network more resilient, maintain existing assets, connect up to 19 gigawatts of new green power to the grid and reduce “constraint costs” – leading, the firm said, to annual savings of £167 per household each year by 2030.
The power firm, which operates a network of more than 110,000km of power cables around the UK, also announced plans to double its transmission workforce, with some 1,400 new directly employed jobs and 11,000 further jobs supported around the country.
The company added it had already announced £5.4 billion worth of supply chain contracts with 19 firms, 17 of which it described as UK and Irish, in what it said was “one of the largest construction pushes under way in the UK”.
It also cited research by the Centre for Energy Policy at the University of Strathclyde which it said found the plans could contribute “sustained economic benefit” of £2 billion each year to UK society.
Nicola Connelly, SP Energy Networks’ chief executive, said: “We have a chance to shape a cleaner, greener future for us all. Making this crucial investment now will drive a positive impact that will help to stabilise and lower consumer energy bills in the longer term.
“If the UK wants to deliver on its ambition to be a clean energy superpower and capitalise on its natural resources, then it needs the electricity grid to match demand.
“Our business plan has been developed to deliver that at pace, combining unprecedented levels of investment with a focus on ensuring fair returns for consumers and investors.
“Government and industry have never been clearer on what needs to be achieved and now we need Ofgem to match that ambition with a price control that unlocks the capital required to finance the projects that will deliver clean power in the next decade.”
The plan, which the firm said marked a “step change” compared with its previous £3.4 billion plan, also includes a proposed £20 million net zero fund.
The firm said this money would build on its existing £5 million net zero fund, and deliver monies to enable local decarbonisation initiatives, as well as providing support and guidance to help communities prepare for and deliver their own net zero plans and projects.
