LONDON, March 5, 2026, 08:40 GMT
- National Grid has locked in close to £3 billion in delivery contracts for the Eastern Green Link 3 (EGL3) project, the company said.
- NKT landed a cable contract topping EUR 2.2 billion—the largest one-off cable project in the company’s history.
- Construction on the HVDC link is slated to begin in 2028, pending approvals, and energisation is targeted for 2033.
National Grid plc on Wednesday announced it has secured contracts approaching £3 billion for its Eastern Green Link 3 (EGL3) initiative, tapping Hitachi Energy to deliver the converter stations and NKT to handle both subsea and underground cabling. The company called EGL3 the largest electricity transmission project of its type in the UK.
The deal comes as Britain looks to curb “constraint costs”—the payouts wind farms get when they’re told to dial back due to grid bottlenecks. According to project supporters, EGL3 aims to cut those snags, moving more clean power from the north and east coast down to where it’s needed further south. Electrical Review
National Grid’s project documents lay out plans for EGL3, a route stretching from the Peterhead region in Aberdeenshire down to Walpole, Norfolk. The sections in England require a development consent order (DCO)—that’s the planning approval needed for major infrastructure. On top of that, National Grid is working with SP Energy Networks on another project, EGL4, as a separate link.
NKT, the company providing the cable, pegged the contract at over EUR 2.2 billion, calling it the biggest single cable project award in its history. The deal involves a 525 kV HVDC system—essential for long-distance power transmission—spanning roughly 680 km with a maximum capacity of 2 gigawatts. Commissioning is targeted for the end of 2033, it said.
SSEN Transmission released an update quoting National Grid’s Mark Brackley, who described the agreement as a “major milestone.” James Johnson from SSEN called EGL3 a “vital investment.” Niklas Persson at Hitachi Energy emphasized the “central role” of the company’s HVDC technology, while NKT’s CEO Claes Westerlind labeled the contract a “significant milestone.” According to the same statement, planning in principle is in place for the Scottish converter station, and two consultation rounds have taken place for works in England. Construction is set for 2028, with the link targeted for energization in 2033, pending sign-off from the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. SSEN Transmission
The deals land just as Britain’s network operators gear up for the next price-control era. Ofgem’s RIIO-3 framework, which governs how much revenue these regulated monopoly networks can collect, kicks off April 1, 2026 and wraps up March 31, 2031.
Still, that drawn-out schedule opens the door to mishaps. Permits haven’t arrived yet, and big subsea projects often stumble if supply chains get squeezed or expenses spike. Any holdup means the network keeps footing the bill for congestion even longer.
National Grid, a public utility, specializes in moving electricity and gas—both the transmission and distribution sides, its investor materials show.
