Norwich to Tilbury is a proposal to build a new 400 kilovolt electricity transmission connection of approximately 180 kilometres in overall length from Norwich Main Substation via Bramford Substation and a new Tilbury North Substation, into Tilbury Substation.
Our proposals are part of The Great Grid Upgrade – the largest overhaul of the grid in generations.
Why do we need Norwich to Tilbury?
East Anglia’s 400,000 volts (400 kV) electricity transmission network was built in the 1960s to supply regional demand, centred around Norwich and Ipswich. With the growth in new energy generation from offshore wind, nuclear power and interconnection with other countries, there will be more electricity connected in East Anglia than the network can currently accommodate.
Over the next decade we expect over 15,000 MW of new generation and 4,500 MW of new interconnection will need to connect in the region.
This includes:
- new offshore wind farms connecting into Necton and Norwich
- Five Estuaries and North Falls offshore wind farms: both currently in development off the east coast and expected to be in operation by 2030
- Tarchon Energy interconnector: 1,400 MW interconnector between UK and Germany, proposed to connect at the Tendring Peninsula.
The high voltage electricity network in East Anglia doesn't have sufficient capacity at present to accommodate all this new generation.
You can read more about our proposals here.
Next Steps
We are currently preparing our application for development consent. This will include a Consultation Report which will set out how we have considered the feedback from the summer 2024 statutory consultation along with our recent targeted consultations.
After we submit our application, the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the Secretary of State, has up to 28 days to decide whether or not the application meets the standards required to be accepted for examination.
If accepted, it will go through a six-month examination period. The Planning Inspectorate will then prepare a report on the application along with their recommendation for the Secretary of State to consider.
The Secretary of State has a further three months to make a decision on whether to grant or refuse development consent.
We expect the whole process to take around 18 months.
Interactive map
We produced an interactive map to make it easier to identify where you are in relation to our proposals.
View the interactive map of our proposals
The map shows the proposals that were published during our 2024 public consultation. Between January and April 2025 we consulted on some small changes. These changes aren’t shown on the interactive map. You can find more information on these changes in our document library.
As our proposals relate to the reinforcement of the 400 kV network in East Anglia, this map only illustrates the existing 275 kV and 400kV network along with related substations.
Project timeline
