Richborough Connection

South East

As old power stations close we need to join new sources of energy to our network, so that electricity continues to be available to us all at the flick of a switch. One of these new sources of energy is a proposed high-voltage electricity link between Belgium and Richborough near Sandwich in Kent, known as the Nemo Link®.

Richborough Connection need case

National Grid is connecting new nuclear, wind farm and other energy sources around the UK. One of these new sources of energy is the Nemo Link®.

This will allow electricity to flow between the UK and Europe, helping to provide a secure supply of electricity to homes and businesses for years to come.

There is no National Grid high-voltage transmission network in the Richborough area, so we will need to build a new connection to join Richborough to the national grid high-voltage transmission network.

This new infrastructure project is called the Richborough Connection. There are pylons that run west from the former Richborough Power Station site, but these are owned by UK Power Networks, a separate company to National Grid. These operate at a lower voltage, and are not capable of carrying the additional 1000MW of power the Nemo Link will provide.

The energy challenge

We need to find ways to meet the UK’s future projected energy needs whilst also tackling climate change.

We are at the heart of this challenge. Our job is to connect people to the energy they use. As old power stations close, we need to join new sources of energy to the national grid so that electricity continues to be available in our homes and businesses at the flick of a switch.

The energy industry is investing in a multi-billion pound investment programme to meet these energy needs, encompassing both small and large-scale electricity generation. At the same time we will need to construct new transmission connections and substations and replace and upgrade ageing energy network equipment and structures in order to connect and efficiently deliver new energy sources.

We are regulated by Ofgem (The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets) and are required to provide efficient, co-ordinated, economical and reliable electricity supplies.