Introducing EGL 3 and EGL 4

National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) is planning to enhance the electricity network with proposals for EGL 3 and EGL 4 – two new primarily offshore high voltage electricity links and associated onshore infrastructure between Scotland and England.

The links would transport enough clean energy from Scotland to power up to four million homes in the Midlands and South of England, playing an important role in building a more secure and resilient future energy system and the decarbonisation of the UK electricity system. 

In England, the proposed onshore elements of EGL 3 and EGL 4 would be in the districts of East Lindsey, Boston and South Holland, in Lincolnshire; and the district of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, in Norfolk.

These proposals form part of The Great Grid Upgrade, which is the largest overhaul of the grid in generations. 
 

Read more about what we’re proposing to build and install here.

Both EGL3 and EGL 4 are in their early stages of development, and we will be seeking consent for the English onshore elements of both via one application to the Planning Inspectorate for a Development Consent Order (DCO). Although EGL 3 and EGL 4 are independent of one another, in effect separate projects, due to their ultimate common connection point in England (the proposed new Walpole substation), we decided to develop them in parallel. In addition to enabling one DCO application, this coordinated and co-located approach to their routeing and siting provides the opportunity to potentially reduce the extent of community and environmental impact and disturbance.

Consultation is an important part of the DCO process as it enables everyone to comment on our proposals, with feedback helping to inform the development of our proposals – along with technical assessments and environmental surveys – before we submit our DCO application to the Planning Inspectorate. 

The Planning Inspectorate will review and examine our application, and encourage submission of views from statutory stakeholders, communities and other interested parties, before making a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, who will decide whether to grant consent. To find out more about the DCO process, please see the Planning Inspectorate website.
 

Taking part in our Stage 1 (non-statutory) public consultation

Consultation on EGL 3 and EGL 4 is planned to take place over two stages. 

This Stage 1 consultation – running for eight weeks from Tuesday 23 April to Monday 17 June 2024 – is designed to introduce our proposals and gain your early feedback. This stage is called a ‘non-statutory’ consultation, which comes before the Stage 2 statutory consultation that we will carry out later in the process before we finalise our proposals and prepare our application for development consent. This consultation process relates only to the English onshore elements of EGL 3 and EGL 4. The deadline to provide feedback is 11:59pm on Monday 17 June 2024.

During this Stage 1 consultation, we are seeking views on where the new onshore infrastructure in England could be built and what you would like to see us consider as we further develop our proposals. More information on this can be found here.
 

Have your say

Learn about the different ways you can take part in our consultation and how to give your feedback by visiting our Have your say page.
 

View our online consultation materials 

If you would like to access any of the consultation materials we have prepared for these projects, please visit the Consultation materials page.

Landowners

If you are landowner or occupier who is affected by our project, or you think you may be, please visit our landowner page.

Contact us

Please get in touch if you have any questions or comments about the EGL 3 and EGL 4 projects by emailing [email protected] or calling 0800 298 0405.                                         

You can also post your written responses (no stamp required) to: Freepost EASTERN GREEN LINKS 3 & 4.