Belfast electricity grid could get £39.5m upgrade

The electricity grid in Belfast would be upgraded if a £39.5m plan from the grid operator gets the go-ahead.

The Transmission System Operator for NI (SONI) says modernising parts of the grid will prepare it for a future of electric vehicles and home heating powered by electricity.

The project will deliver a new high-capacity underground cable through Belfast city centre.

There would also be a new transformer at Castlereagh main substation.

If passed, work would begin in 2024 and last three to four years, with enabling works at substations happening first.

The Energising Belfast plan has been approved by the Utility Regulator.

Its director of networks Tanya Hedley said: "Northern Ireland is on a journey to a low carbon future and the Energising Belfast project is key to supporting the transition to net zero for households and businesses in Greater Belfast."

A first round of public engagement events are to be held later this month in Belfast to outline the project ahead of a planning application.

'Affordable clean electricity'

The permanent secretary at the Department for the Economy, Mike Brennan, said it was a "significant" plan in its potential for the economy.

"It is helping in providing opportunity to deliver affordable clean electricity and to promote Northern Ireland as an attractive location for renewables investment," he said.

"Our energy revolution will be based on Northern Ireland's innovation, engineering and IT expertise."

The work could be "paving the way for the future removal of some pylons in Greater Belfast," according to SONI managing director, Alan Campbell.

"This project will future-proof the transmission system in Greater Belfast to ensure businesses have the secure electricity supply they need to expand in the near-term and into the future," he said.

"Along with supporting the decarbonisation of heating and transport, it will also prepare the grid to facilitate greater levels of clean energy, helping Northern Ireland to deliver its climate ambition of at least 80% renewable electricity generation by 2030."

The transmission grid brings power from generators and sends it to the NIE Networks distribution network, which supplies homes and businesses across Northern Ireland.

Its Network Assets Director Randal Gilbert welcomed the project.

"The energy system in Northern Ireland is at a transformational juncture," he said.