More electricity pylons 'crucial' despite cost to bill payers
A growth in renewables generation will also need to be shifted to large population centres in England and elsewhere.Almost 30 gigawatts (GW) of new offshore wind is expected to be built in the seas around Scotland which is ten times more than the 3 GW currently demanded at peak times.
While demand is expected to double by 2050, that still leaves huge amounts of excess electricity which will need to be transported.Cables which export that electricity south of the border will need to increase from a current capacity of 6.6 GW to 40 GW by 2040.The transmission network in England and Wales is owned and operated by National Grid but in Scotland is split between two operators.Scottish Power runs it in central and southern Scotland while SSE provides the northern network.Spending on grid infrastructure is added onto bills but is regulated by Ofgem and operators have to make a case for what is necessary every five years.A consultation on spending plans up to 2031 runs until 26 August.
SPEN chief executive Nicola Connelly says the way we use electricity has changed enormously since the current network was built, with more change on the way.She says the £12bn investment they are planning will see the workforce almost double, with the supply chain also benefitting."Ultimately we've got a responsibility to make sure that we can get the electricity to where it's needed, that we've got that safe and resilient network and we do it at a cost that's reasonable for customers," she added.The electricity sector is often criticised for the amount of "constraint payments" that are received for not generating power.The payments are a compensation for the grid not being capable of shifting the electricity to where it is needed.It is hoped the investment will save billions by increasing the size of the grid and reducing those constraint payments.
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