Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the potential additional costs for offshoring the required new grid capacity between north east (a) Scotland and (b) England.

Electricity network planning is a function of the independent Electricity System Operator (ESO). Through the Holistic Network Design (HND), the transitional Centralised Strategic Network Plan and in the future through the Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP), the ESO considers the best approach to coordinate transmission infrastructure to balance community impact, environmental impact, cost and deliverability and reduce the amount of planned infrastructure. Additional costs will vary depending on the specific infrastructure considered, however subsea cabling is several times more expensive than overhead lines, due in part to lower capacity of offshore circuits (2GW in comparison to 6GW for onshore alternatives).