Campaigners have asked for a decision on the proposed new powerlines between Grimsby and Walpole in Norfolk to be paused.
The Secretary of State’s office will rule on the project that includes up to two substations at Weston Marsh.
Campaign group Lincolnshire Against Needless Destruction (LAND) has called for a ‘Section 35 Direction’ to pause the process of this and several other projects until a Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) is completed.
It is being put together by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) and is due some time this year.
LAND has written to the Secretary of State Ed Milliband with the call to pause the work.
The letter states: “It is the first opportunity to create a coherent, cost-effective, and publicly acceptable national grid strategy.
“It is therefore essential that no irreversible commitments are made before the SSEP is complete.
“This is not a request to slow the energy transition. It is a request to deliver it intelligently, affordably, and with public consent.”
The letter also says the group are worried about escalating costs citing those from the Eastern Green Link One and Two between England and Scotland rising from £2.1 billion to £4.3 billion.
“Every cost overrun ends up on our bills,” said Pam Re gan of the group of No Pylons Lincolnshire which is working alongside LAND: ” Unless the Government changes course, prices will keep rising, not falling.”
“We’re building yesterday’s grid at tomorrow’s prices,
“Offshore integration is cheaper, faster, and avoids tearing through farmland and villages. The government knows this — NESO has told them.”
