IN Brief:
- Ofgem has approved early construction funding for major Scottish electricity transmission schemes.
- The decision covers Denny-Wishaw, Tealing-Kincardine, and eight further SHET projects.
- Funding will support procurement, land, surveys, design work, and early construction activity.
Ofgem has approved early construction funding for a series of major electricity transmission projects in Scotland, allowing grid schemes to move earlier on procurement, land, design, surveys, and enabling works.
The approvals sit within the Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment programme, which was created to speed up delivery of strategically important transmission infrastructure. With the latest decisions, Ofgem has now granted early funding to all 26 projects in the ASTI programme.
The newly approved funding covers the proposed Denny to Wishaw 400kV reinforcement project, the Tealing-Kincardine upgrade, and eight Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission projects covering six onshore and two offshore schemes. The projects are intended to increase capacity across Scotland’s electricity network and support the movement of renewable generation to homes and businesses.
Early construction funding allows transmission operators to finance work before full project approval. It can support early procurement of materials such as substation components and HVDC cables, strategic land purchases, design work, surveys, and early construction activities. In a global market where transformers, switchgear, cable, and converter-station equipment are in high demand, earlier procurement can reduce exposure to long lead times.
The Denny to Wishaw project involves a proposed new north-to-south overhead power line corridor, enabling 1,000MW of clean power to flow through Scotland’s central belt. The works include a new 400kV overhead line between Bonnybridge and an existing overhead line north of Glenmavis, substation extensions and reinforcements at Wishaw and Bonnybridge, and reconductoring and uprating of existing routes between Easterhouse, Newarthill, and Wishaw.
The Tealing-Kincardine upgrade includes new 400kV GIS substations at Westfield and Mossmorran, a new 400kV AIS substation at Conland, reconfiguration of Devonside substation, and refurbishment and re-insulation of the existing Tealing to Longannet 275kV power line to upgrade it for 400kV operation.
The SHET schemes include the Arnish to Beauly HVDC link, the Spittal to Peterhead HVDC subsea link, new 400kV overhead line and substation works between Beauly, Loch Buidhe, and Spittal, reinforcement between Beauly, Blackhillock, and Peterhead, and upgrades linked to the Beauly-Denny route. Several are tied directly to the need to move renewable energy from onshore and offshore generation areas into the wider grid.
The approvals do not replace planning consent, and the schemes will still need to pass through the relevant planning processes. They do, however, allow transmission operators to prepare earlier and secure critical items before full construction approval, which can be decisive where equipment availability shapes the whole delivery programme.
Grid infrastructure is becoming a larger workload stream for construction as electrification, renewable generation, and network reinforcement move up the national investment agenda. New transmission routes require access roads, compounds, earthworks, foundations, towers, substations, cable routes, drainage, environmental mitigation, logistics planning, and commissioning support. The assets may be electrical by purpose, but the civil engineering and building-services components are extensive.
The supply chain is already organising around that shift. National Grid has named 13 contractors for substation works, while Balfour Beatty has pointed to growth opportunities across UK transmission and defence programmes. Ofgem’s latest funding decision adds further weight to a grid investment cycle that is moving from policy intent into procurement, design, and early delivery.
Planning, land access, consents, public engagement, environmental controls, outage windows, specialist labour, and equipment availability will all influence how quickly the projects move. Early funding can improve procurement position, although the practical task of building transmission infrastructure through live network environments and sensitive landscapes remains substantial.
The next phase will depend on converting early procurement and survey activity into buildable programmes. With several major transmission schemes progressing at the same time, contractors and suppliers will need depth across civils, electrical works, environmental delivery, access planning, and commissioning if the 2030 capacity targets are to hold.
