A £28bn upgrade to the UK’s energy grid is set to push up household bills, even as it aims to strengthen the country’s power and gas networks. The energy regulator Ofgem has approved a five-year plan that prioritizes maintaining gas infrastructure while allocating £10.3bn to bolster the electricity transmission grid.
Under the plan, households are expected to pay an average extra £108 on energy bills by 2031. Ofgem, however, argues that the net rise to the typical energy bill will be closer to £30 per year because the investment should reduce exposure to imported gas and help lower wholesale energy costs over time.
Network operators—the companies that own and run power lines, cables, and gas pipes—operate as monopolies in different regions and function separately from energy suppliers. This framework outlines how they will deliver a safer, more reliable supply over the next five years and sets the cost controls they must operate within starting next year.
Jonathan Brearley, Ofgem’s chief executive, said the investment will keep Britain’s energy network among the safest, most secure, and most resilient globally. In an interview with BBC Breakfast, he stressed the need to reduce dependence on gas and diversify energy sources to stabilise future electricity prices and shield consumers’ bills.
Of the £108 total increase, £48 goes toward gas and £60 toward electricity. Yet Ofgem expects the plan to yield roughly £80 in savings, including about £50 saved from expanding the grid’s capacity.
Brearley noted that the £108 uplift won’t hit all at once; the rise will accumulate gradually over five years, beginning with around 2-3% of bills in April and increasing in a roughly linear fashion thereafter.
The regulator also highlighted efficiency gains, such as solving bottlenecks that have forced offshore wind farms to pay billions to remain offline because the grid can’t handle their output.
Ahead of the announcement, Keith Anderson, chief executive of ScottishPower, told the BBC Today programme that removing these constraints is crucial. He described the coming investment as the largest wave of electricity infrastructure development since the 1950s, aimed at delivering a system that can serve the country into the 21st century.
National Grid, which owns Britain’s gas transmission network, will receive funding under this Ofgem plan. Its CEO, Jon Butterworth, welcomed the move as confirming the gas transmission system’s critical role in the UK’s energy security now and for decades to come. He indicated a forthcoming detailed review to ensure the plan enables a safe, resilient network that sustains Britain’s energy supplies, industrial competitiveness, and clean-energy ambitions.
Greenpeace UK’s Charlie Kronick criticized the grid’s current state as no longer fit for purpose and urged immediate, essential upgrades. He stressed that spending must be effective, with strong safeguards to protect bill-payers and to deliver genuine value for money with reasonable returns.
The Ofgem announcement follows a government Budget pledge to remove certain costs, effectively shaving around £150 from a typical annual energy bill.
