Voltage 2026 tenders awarded

Four contracts have been awarded to provide services to secure voltage services in two regions in England between 2026 and 2036, forecasted to provide consumer savings of £318m across the ten year period.

Voltage 2026 is the third tender that has been carried out under the Network Services Procurement (NSP)/Pathfinder programme. 

Voltage Mersey procured reactive power in the north-west for delivery between 2022 and 2031, Voltage Pennines procured additional reactive power across West Yorkshire and North East England for delivery between 2024 and 2034. This third tender looked specifically at reactive power absorption requirements in London and Northern England from 2026 onwards.

Voltage Network Services Procurement looks for the most cost-effective ways to absorb more reactive power on the transmission network to address high voltage system issues. As a result of an increase in low carbon energy generation and a drop in minimum demand and power consumption at the distribution level, NESO needs to adapt and find new ways to manage the changing patterns of reactive power. 

In 2022 NESO conducted analysis to identify reactive power absorption requirements in London and Northern England from 2026 onwards.

In December 2023, a tender was launched for the provision of 600 Mvar; (400 Mvar in the North of England and 200 Mvar in London). This was open to all technology types such as existing generators and new-build projects across the market.

NESO has now awarded four contracts for the provision of 646 Mvar across both regions worth a combined £83m. These contracts will deliver forecasted consumer saving of £318m across the ten-year period.

The results table for the procurement can be found here.