Project temporarily on hold

The Bramford-Twinstead connection project has been put temporarily on hold until a later date.

The proposed 400,000 volt electricity connection between Bramford, near Ipswich, and Twinstead in Essex is now needed later than originally planned following updated information from power generation companies.

National Grid has assessed the latest information from companies proposing to build new power generation around the East Anglia region, including data about when they would like to start producing electricity. This shows the connection is now expected to be required in the early 2020s rather than 2017.
National Grid’s assessment confirms that the proposed 400,000 volt overhead line and underground cable will still be needed to connect new sources of power, including low carbon electricity, to replace old coal and nuclear power stations that are closing.

The company had been planning next year to carry out further public consultation and apply for a development consent order to build the Bramford-Twinstead connection with the aim, had permission been granted, of constructing the connection by 2017. Public consultation and the application will now take place nearer to the time when the connection is needed.

National Grid has published the Bramford-Twinstead Need Case 2013 which explains the changes to proposed power generation projects. This can be found on the project website.