Households across Great Britain could be entitled to up to £250 off their energy bill if they live next to new or upgraded pylons under a new proposal.
The proposal is part of the UK Government’s upcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Under the rules, households within 500m of new or upgraded electricity transmission infrastructure, or pylons, will get their electricity bill discounted by up to £2500 over a 10-year period.
The government has said it will result in rural communities receiving funds for hosting vital infrastructure.
Separate new guidance will set out how developers should ensure communities hosting transmission infrastructure can benefit, by funding projects like sports clubs, educational programmes, or leisure facilities.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “The only way to make Britain energy secure and bring down bills for good is to get Britain off dependence on fossil fuel markets and replace it with clean, homegrown power that we control.”
Around twice as much new transmission network infrastructure as that which was built over the past decade will be needed by 2030, the UK Government said.
It also stated that Britain’s dependence on foreign fossil fuel was exposed during the invasion of Ukraine, resulting in British energy consumers being among the hardest hit in western Europe.
Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said:
“We owe it to the people of this country to get Britain building again. It is no longer a question of whether we build the new infrastructure we need, but a question of how and this must be done in lockstep with local communities.”
The new community funds guidance means communities could get £200,000 worth of funding per kilometre of overhead electricity cable in their area, and £530,000 per substation.
This would mean an upcoming project like Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) transmissions power line, between Tealing and Aberdeenshire could see local communities benefiting from funding worth over £23 million.
The plans will provide particular benefit to rural communities, which will host a large amount of grid infrastructure.
