Accepted

Latest update

Registration is now open on the Planning Inspectorate's website. To have your say during the Examination of our proposals, you will need to register as an Interested Party by 23 June 2025. You can register on the Planning Inspectorate's website here, where more information about the project and what happens next is also available.   

About Sea Link 

As the demand for energy increases, the project is designed to deliver renewable and low carbon energy efficiently to homes and businesses across the regions and beyond.

The cable would be predominantly offshore, with new onshore infrastructure to bring the power from the subsea cables into and out of the electricity network in both Kent and Suffolk.  

To bring the power from the subsea cables into and out of the electricity network, we would need to build new onshore infrastructure including converter stations, substations and new underground and overhead electricity lines, as well as upgrading existing overhead electricity lines. 

Power will be able to flow along the Sea Link cables in either direction, depending on where renewable energy is being generated at that time and where in the country power is needed.

National Grid does not yet have permission to build Sea Link. A decision on the development consent order application is expected to be made by mid-2026. More information on the application and next steps is available on the FAQs section of our website.

Why we need to build Sea Link

The existing electricity network in both Kent and Suffolk needs upgrading. This is because the UK’s electricity grid was originally built in the 1960s to connect electricity generated in power stations from fossil fuels, such as coal, from the North and Midlands of England and South Wales.   

As the UK moves away from fossil fuels and increases clean energy generation, which is largely offshore, we need to connect electricity in new places.

Demand for electricity is also expected to increase by 50% by 2035, and double by 2050, as we decarbonise the energy that’s used for things like heating and transport. 

Therefore, significant new infrastructure is needed to connect this clean energy from where it’s now generated to homes and businesses.  

The project programme

2022 - 2024

Pre-application public consultations

March 2025

Submission of application for development consent

2025 - 2026

Examination of application for development consent

Late 2026

Decision expected on application

2026-2031

Construction works (if the project is approved)

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Contact the team

If you have any questions or comments about Sea Link, please get in touch by emailing [email protected], by calling 0808 134 9569 or by writing to Freepost SEA LINK. 

Sea Link is just one of several electricity network reinforcements that are needed to ensure the electricity transmission network is fit for the future. To read more about he Great Grid Upgrade, please click below.

The Great Grid Upgrade

What's energy resilience got to do with movie marathons? Find out how – and why – we’re connecting more clean energy to power the things you love.

Find out more