Have your say on National Grid plans to extend Heysham substation

The substation extension is being proposed in response to several energy projects being developed near Middleton, which require connections to the grid – requests National Grid is legally obligated to fulfil.

Initial connections into the site – located around 5km from Lancaster on the outskirts of Heysham – will include two new battery energy storage projects, making available over 1GW of new storage capacity. The upgrades will mean that further connection requests can be fulfilled at the substation in the future.

National Grid has invited residents to attend two public information events, ahead of an application being submitted in early 2025. The two events are:

An online webinar, to be held on March 5 2025, between 6pm and 7pm which people can register for on the project website at https://www.nationalgrid.com/electricity-transmission/network-and-infrastructure/infrastructure-projects/middleton-substation

An in-person event to be held on March 13 2025, from 4pm - 7pm, at Heysham Jubilee Institute (30 Main Street, LA3 2RW).

Ray Richardson, Project Manager at National Grid, said: “The plans to extend Middleton Substation are a vital investment into energy infrastructure in the region. As demand increases, and new projects come forward, our upgrades will make sure they can connect to the grid and contribute to the supply of clean power to the community.

“We’re looking forward to meeting residents online and at our exhibition event, to present our proposals for Middleton Substation and answer questions people may have.”

The plans include extending the Gas Insulated Substation (GIS) building at the 400 kV substation, adding two new supergrid transformers and laying internal access roads across the site.

New boundary fencing is also planned, along with ancillary works around cabling and existing conductors on-site. The site, adjacent to the A683, will be accessible from the A-road, reducing the need for HGVs and lorries to use local residential roads.

People are encouraged to visit the project website at https://www.nationalgrid.com/electricity-transmission/network-and-infrastructure/infrastructure-projects/middleton-substation and attend the online webinar or in-person event, to find out more.