Households Near New Pylons to Get £2,500 Off Electricity Bills. Who Qualifies and When

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero named 43 transmission projects on 12 August 2026 as the first wave of a Bill Discount Scheme for households living near new pylons and related grid infrastructure. Energy Minister Michael Shanks said communities that host this infrastructure should see their energy bills come down.

Households within 500 metres of eligible projects are expected to receive £2,500 off their electricity bills over 10 years, or £250 a year. Payments are due to start in the first half of 2027, once secondary legislation under the Planning and Infrastructure Act is in force. Ofgem will administer the scheme. The published list covers England, Scotland and Wales.

Living near an existing pylon is not enough. The scheme covers new onshore, overground transmission infrastructure built by Transmission Operators where construction started on or after 10 March 2025. That includes substations, converter stations, switching stations and sealing end compounds, plus the onshore infrastructure of subsea power lines.

A household only comes into scope once a project has all necessary consents and main construction has started. Some projects on the list have not yet received planning consent, or are still going through an appeals process. DESNZ says the list is indicative, and that the discount will not influence planning decisions. The scheme itself still needs Parliament to approve the necessary legislation later this year.

Most eligible households will receive the discount automatically via their energy supplier. Some, including those on commercial meters, may need to apply. Qualifying households are due to be contacted by their supplier or Ofgem in the first half of 2027. DESNZ says people who think they may be eligible do not need to do anything at this stage.

National Grid Electricity Transmission has 10 projects listed in England, including Bramford to Twinstead in East Anglia and the North London Reinforcement, and one in Wales Pentir to Trawsfynydd. Scotland accounts for most of the first wave. SSEN Transmission has 20 projects listed, and SP Energy Networks has 12, including Chirmorie in south west Scotland.

Further projects are due to follow. Ministers say hundreds of thousands of homes are expected to benefit over the next decade. How many properties actually receive payments will depend on which projects come into scope and where they are finally built.

The same announcement also pointed to Community Funds guidance issued in March 2025, a separate stream of money for communities hosting transmission projects.

Much of Britain's electricity grid was built in the 1960s. DESNZ says upgrades are needed to connect new generation, strengthen energy security and lower costs for billpayers. Shanks described the work as upgrading infrastructure "built largely in the 1960s for the modern age" and linked the scheme to a wider plan to bring bills down, following the cut to VAT on electricity.

The discount is funded through an obligation on licensed electricity suppliers, with costs passed on to consumers. DESNZ's March 2026 impact assessment estimated the bill discount scheme alone would add around 20p a year to a typical domestic bill on average over 2026 to 2044, peaking at 40p to 50p in 2029.

A June report by engineering consultants Ramboll, cited by the government, found that even with cheaper undergrounding methods such as cable ploughing, average build costs remain 3.5 to 5 times higher than overhead lines, depending on circuit capacity.

Ofgem Executive Director for Delivery and Schemes Neil Lawrence said the regulator's role is to make sure payments are delivered "effectively, fairly and transparently to eligible customers."

The 12 August list is a first wave, not a final register of who will be paid. Households will only receive the discount after a named project has all its consents, construction has started on or after 10 March 2025, and the secondary legislation is in force. First payments are scheduled for the first half of 2027.

Until then, DESNZ says most people do not need to apply. Energy suppliers or Ofgem are expected to contact qualifying households in the first half of next year. Questions about the scheme can be sent to networksbd@energysecurity.gov.uk.