Overhead Electrical Transmission Lines

Earl of Effingham Excerpts

Thursday 29th February 2024 Grand Committee

[The Earl of Effingham (Con)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Swire for initiating this important debate. I consider myself extremely fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the UK, with all its rolling hills, scenery and landscapes, but I am not the only one who is extremely fortunate—there are all the local businesses, which are dependent on tourism and on visitors who regularly make the trip to visit the area.

Tourism is one of the most important sectors of the rural economy; it is worth over £29 billion per annum and accounts for around 12% of rural employment. In fact, such is the Government’s belief that we should encourage more people to enjoy the countryside and improve the quality of our rural tourism experience that they are making a number of investments, one of which is that Defra will provide up to £2 million to enable local communities to enhance their tourism offer by improving public rights of way.

I believe that, if you were to conduct a straw poll of what visitors to the countryside most want to enjoy, a walk in the fresh air taking in the surroundings would be close to the top of their agenda. People of all ages and mobility can enjoy the experience. It is a magnificent draw for young children to run to their hearts’ content in the fields and exhaust themselves with fresh air and exercise. Young parents or couples can take a break from the busy life they may lead in a city and enjoy some quality downtime surrounded by nature, while the older generation who may not be able to participate in team sport or vigorous exercise are able to work on their daily 20,000 steps amid beautiful scenery.

Spending time in nature helps with anxiety and depression, while at the same time we know that physical exercise has multiple benefits in reducing obesity and maintaining positive mental health. It therefore appears that the benefits of visiting the countryside, going for a walk and enjoying the scenery have multiple positives for both our health and well-being. To quote John Keats:

“Happy is England! I could be content

To see no other verdure than its own”.

It is important that we take special care to retain our glorious countryside and ensure that the use of overhead electrical transmission lines is minimised, given that we have the ability to bury them underground. We already have 4,500 miles of OHL, and of these there are around 356 miles in areas of outstanding natural beauty and national parks. The Visual Impact Provision project and Landscape Enhancement Initiative is a great example of the energy industry working together with National Parks England, CPRE, the National Trust, Ramblers and others to restore the magical landscapes—but this is only

“in a number of locations”.

Of those 356 miles flagged, what is the actual number of miles of overhead transmission lines going though those areas that could be replaced by underground cables?

Cost is obviously a key factor in these decisions, and there have been a number of studies on this. Estimates for the cost of underground cables range from five to 10 times more than overhead transmission lines. What I would like to flag up is that many people, including myself, believe that the long-term societal benefits of underground cables significantly outweigh the initial investment costs of OHL and result in minimal cost implications to us as the end consumers over a 40-year time horizon.

Data from Germany and the UK indicates that an increase in the use of underground cables would result in a 1% increase in the total electricity bill for the end consumer, or approximately £15 per annum at the higher end. The reason for this is that grid charges make up less than one-quarter of the actual price of a kilowatt hour, with the largest components being generation costs and government taxes and subsidies.

National Grid carried out a study in 2019, the results of which showed a nationwide willingness to pay an additional £6.87 per household per year to underground a further 20 miles of existing lines in areas of outstanding national beauty and national parks. It appears that the majority of end consumers continue to support the removal of overhead lines from these areas, so have the Government had any discussions with Ofgem to investigate the possibility of increasing energy industry funding for the Visual Impact Provision project? If consumers are prepared to pay more, it would seem logical to ask the energy industry to increase their levy contribution to match consumer commitment.

Can the Government also ensure that all ongoing and future public consultations on OHL versus underground factor into the outcome the multiple benefits of underground cables for society, tourism, wildlife and the nation’s health and well-being, so that the real holistic and economic cost can be discussed? We are talking about protecting the UK countryside not just for now but for future generations. That should be of the utmost importance.