National Grid has introduced a transformative new approach to the way it works with Britain’s supply chain, designed to accelerate the delivery of £8 billion worth of vital substation infrastructure across England and Wales and support the UK’s clean energy transition.
The Electricity Transmission Partnership (ETP) remodels how National Grid engages with suppliers, moving to a longer term collaborative approach that builds strong regional partnerships and rewards partners for high quality performance over time.
The initiative awards regional exclusivity of substation work to ETP partners based on how well they perform and their commitment to expanding their capacity, an approach that aims to strengthen the UK supply chain, encourage long term investment, and support the development of local skills and capability.
It also marks a major boost to National Grid’s ambitious RIIO-T3 investment plan, which proposes up to £35 billion investment in the transmission network in England and Wales over the five years to March 2031, including to build new substations or upgrade existing ones.
As part of the ETP, National Grid expects to award around £8 billion worth of substation construction work over the RIIO-T3 period, covering multiple regions and around 130 projects.
In July National Grid awarded regional delivery partner status to several successful suppliers, as well as allocating an initial £1.3 billion worth of exclusive work whose contracts will be awarded at a later stage.
“Our Electricity Transmission Partnership marks a bold shift in how we deliver vital electricity infrastructure. By adopting a regional, long term approach, we’re giving our supply chain the certainty to invest in people, skills and innovation. It’s a key step in turning our RIIO-T3 investment ambitions into action and building a resilient grid to support Britain’s clean energy future.”
“With strong ties for Morgan Sindall Infrastructure in the North West, we are proud to continue to strengthen our strategic long-term relationship with National Grid and support the delivery of RIIO-T3.
“This latest investment cycle from National Grid will not only be pivotal to the UK by further strengthening the energy network for current and future resilience, but it brings so much for local communities with diverse career opportunities and the utilisation of local supply chain.”
(L-R) Andy Ernest (NG VP procurement), Dale Ward (NG Head of Construction Strategy), Simon Smith (MSI Managing Director) Mark Lissimore (NG Director of Infrastructure Delivery) Peter Kirk (MSI Managing Director - Energy)
Regional delivery partners include:
Balfour Beatty – North East region
Morgan Sindall Infrastructure – North West region
Murphy – South West (region one) and London & South East region
M Group – South West (region two)
OTW – Central West region
The awards mean partners will have first refusal of future substation work in the pipeline in their region, providing them with the certainty they need to invest in growth and capability.
Two national partners, Linxon and Burns & McDonnell, will support delivery of substation work that falls outside the scope of the regional partners’ portfolios.
The ETP complements other pioneering initiatives in National Grid’s evolving supply chain ecosystem, including the Great Grid Partnership (GGP) and a new high voltage direct current (HVDC) supply chain framework. Together, these programmes are designed to provide greater capacity and resilience across multiple infrastructure construction portfolios.
The ETP model has the potential to be expanded beyond substations in future to include other network infrastructure, ensuring a consistent and innovative approach to bolstering supply chain across National Grid’s entire transmission network in England and Wales.