National Grid sits at the heart of Britain’s energy system, connecting millions of people and businesses to the energy they use every day. It is our vision to be at the heart of a clean, fair and affordable energy future.

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National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) owns, builds and maintains the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales. It is NGET that is developing the new East Claydon substation.

Find out more about National Grid Electricity Transmission 

The NESO is the National Energy System Operator for Great Britain. It's an independent and impartial body that makes sure we all have the essential energy we need by ensuring supply meets demand every second of every day.

Generators of electricity apply to the NESO when they wish to connect to the high-voltage electricity network and the NESO leads the work to consider how the network may need to evolve to deliver a cleaner, greener future. 

Find out more about the NESO

Substations are integral features of the network and convert electricity to a lower voltage so it can be safely delivered to local homes and businesses.

Find out more about substations

National Grid owns more than 300 large substations, where 275kV and 400kV overhead power lines or underground cables are switched in voltage so the electricity can be safely distributed to the surrounding areas.

Smaller substations are owned and maintained by local distribution networks, including our Electricity Distribution business (formerly Western Power Distribution).

National Grid funds new projects such as power transmission lines through an agreement with Ofgem.They pay upfront costs, which are gradually passed to customers over 40 years, easing the burden on electricity bills. Investors support National Grid, expecting profits and eventual repayment. This spreads the investment cost over years, avoiding sudden bill spikes. 

At National Grid, our priority in developing projects like East Claydon substation is to ensure energy security, support the transition to a cleaner energy system, and keep energy affordable for our customers. While we operate as a private company, our investment and project development decisions are made within a regulatory framework designed to balance the need for investment in the nation’s energy infrastructure with the interests of consumers and the wider public. Our profits are regulated by Ofgem, ensuring they are fair and aligned with efficient and necessary investments in the energy system.

A replacement substation in East Claydon is required to enable new renewable energy generation to connect to the National Grid and to support our Distribution Networks increased demand. The new projects developed by National Grid and our customers are required to ensure the UK is generating enough energy to meet the increasing demand for energy.

The proposed East Claydon Substation is required as the existing substation was originally installed in the 1960s and is coming to the end of its useful life. Additionally, it does not have sufficient electrical capacity to support increased demand of existing customers and to connect new customers to our transmission network.

The replacement substation needs to be located as close as feasible to the existing substation. This will enable an “offline build” which is safer and will allow for a smooth transition while the existing substation is switched off and capacity is transferred over. This site location also allows for a much shorter connection and helps reduce the amount of infrastructure required, including overhead lines, and the resulting disruption to communities.

Siting studies were carried out in early 2024 to determine the best location for the replacement substation.

Following the construction of the replacement substation, the existing substation will be taken out of everyday operation. There are no intentions to sell the existing substation land to other developers.  We hope to use this land for future extension/ replacement/ possible landscaping or screening while minimising impact to the local community.

• April 2024: Substation site selection
• Spring 2024 - 2025: Surveys and technical assessments
• 2025: Public consultation
• 2025: Submission of planning application to Buckinghamshire Council

To facilitate transfer of the OHL circuits to the replacement substation, we are currently considering what overhead line diversions may be required. Details of this will be refined as we further develop our proposals which remain at an early stage.

As we continue to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, and increase clean energy generation, we’ll be using more electricity than ever to support our everyday lives. That means we’ll need a grid that’s able to carry all this extra electricity to wherever we might need it. Distribution companies who are currently connected to the 132kV East Claydon substation will be able to meet increased demand from local industries and embedded generation with the upgraded substation.

As well as helping to reach net zero, the UK government suggests that investment in onshore network infrastructure could support up to 130,000 jobs and contribute an estimated £4-11bn of GVA (gross value added) to Great Britain’s economy in 2050.

We are committed to working in collaboration with communities, stakeholders, suppliers and other parts of industry, to leave a lasting positive legacy by delivering community benefits in the areas that host our infrastructure.

This could include, for example, supporting local community projects as well as delivering broader socioeconomic and environmental enhancements.

Our current live community benefits include:

• Opportunities for young people - To help achieve net zero by 2050, we estimate our industry needs to recruit 400,000 jobs between now and 2050.
• Grid for Good – This is our flagship programme that helps increase access to training and employment opportunities for young people. We support students with career coaching and masterclasses.
• Community Grant Programme - When we are nearer to construction, our community grant programme will be open for applications from local charities and not for profit organisations to support local community initiatives.

During construction we will need to do a range of temporary activities such as creating equipment storage areas, site offices, and road and public rights of way diversions will need to be implemented. Before we do this, we will prepare a Construction Management Plan that will set out how we will reduce our impact on the local community.

We work closely with the local community to minimise construction impacts as much as we can and support community initiatives in areas where we are working to deliver social, economic or environmental benefits.

People living near the substation will not receive money off their bills or direct payments because of the project.

However, we are committed to engaging with communities to ensure the projects deliver other localised benefits, including social benefits via our Community Grant Programme and environmental benefits via biodiversity net gain (i.e., increasing biodiversity in the area we operating in above what is currently there).

The Community Grant Programme is run by the National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) business. The programme is aimed at community organisations and charities in areas where our work is impacting local people through our operations and construction activities.

Communities impacted by construction work for new infrastructure projects (e.g. the building of new underground tunnels or a new substation resulting in a significant increase in heavy goods traffic, noise and other impacts) can apply for grants of up to £20,000.

You can read more about the Community Grant Programme here: https://www.nationalgrid.com/responsibility/community/community-grant-programme

East Claydon Substation, like all substations across the country, enable electricity to be transmitted at different voltages, securely and reliably. This process enables electricity to be transmitted across the country and then distributed throughout local neighbourhoods and into our homes and businesses. With new renewable energy projects being brought forward in the local area, a new substation is required to support this growth of green energy and connect new customers.

To this end, the new substation will perform a crucial role in enabling the effectively delivery of net zero by ensuring new renewable energy generation makes its way from where it is generated to homes and businesses.

All substations are designed to limit EMFs in line with independent safety guidelines, set to protect us all against exposure. After decades of research, the weight of evidence is against there being any health risks of EMFs below the guideline limits. Due to the design of the equipment that substations contain, substations do not produce a significant external electric field. However, they do generate a magnetic field.

There are carefully thought-out policies for protecting us all against Electro Magnetic Fields (EMFs), the main component of which is ‘exposure guidelines’. The UK guidelines are set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and have been adopted by the Government.

Such concerns are taken seriously and our priority is to keep the public, our contractors and employees safe.

Find out more about EMFs and substations

We are carrying out rigorous assessment for the replacement substation.  This includes evaluating its impact on designated sites and the environment by avoiding, minimising, restoring, and offsetting impacts.

We are also committed to ensuring we meet the government target of 10% Biodiversity Net Gain, which means that the local environment will be left in a demonstrably and measurably more biodiverse state than prior to the start of the project. This will be achieved by a range of measures, such as habitat creation and enhancement for protected species.

Full details on how we intend to achieve Biodiversity Net Gain, as well as any identified environmental mitigation measures required, will be submitted to the Council as part of our planning application.Visual impact has been considered as part of the siting study and we will conduct a full Landscape and Visual Impact Appraisal to form part of the planning application.

All construction schemes have a target of delivering 10% Environmental Net Gain, which must include a minimum of 10% Biodiversity Net Gain.

We are committed to working with EDF and Rosefield Solar Farm, as well as our other customers to ensure that our respective projects are coordinated to help minimise disruption to the public.

For queries relating to the Rosefield Solar Farm project please contact the EDF community relations team on 0800 8611097 or [email protected]

East Claydon Substation is nearing the end of its useful life, and its equipment needs replacing.As the UK looks to transition away from fossil fuels, more electricity needs to be transmitted than ever before. With new renewable energy projects being brought forward in the local area, a new substation is required to support this growth of green energy.

Rosefield Solar Farm would connect to East Claydon substation if consented. Nonetheless, a replacement substation at East Claydon would still be required as the existing substation is nearing the end of its useful life and does not have sufficient electrical capacity to connect new customers to our transmission network.

We will now be carrying out surveys across our selected site(s). Survey works and technical assessments will be taking place through the spring and summer. The work will inform the information we will present to the local community at our consultation in 2025.

Up to date information on upcoming survey works will be provided on our website nationalgrid.com/eastclaydon. Landowners where survey works are taking place will be contacted by our lands team ahead of visits taking place.

We may look to carry out two types of survey; a non-intrusive survey where a surveyor will walk over the land and visually collect data. The second type is an intrusive survey where we require below surface investigation of the ground, this may include works such as boreholes, trial pits, and open cut trenches.

Each survey type has a set compensation and payments schedule as determined by National Grid policy. Find out more here:

www.nationalgrid.com/electricity-transmission/network-and-infrastructure/landowners-occupiers-and-grantors

Please contact our community relations team on 0800 049 9734 or at [email protected], who will put you in touch with our lands team.