National Grid’s Little Horsted Substation in the UK Begins Operations

National Grid’s Little Horsted substation is now energized and operational, adding approximately 0.5 GW of capacity to the transmission network — enough to power about 480,000 homes.

The substation is located along the line of pylons between Bolney and Ninfield, England and is part of National Grid’s broader investment in its South East network. The company has outlined plans to invest £2.7 billion between 2026 and 2031 to maintain, upgrade, and futureproof the network.

The project is expected to support the local distribution network operator, UK Power Networks, in meeting growing electricity demand in the region.

In the past year, National Grid completed a multimillion-dollar refurbishment of its overhead electricity transmission network between substations in Lovedean, East Hampshire, and Bolney.

National Grid reported a record year for electricity connections in 2025, connecting 2.4 GW of new generation to the transmission network and approximately 0.5 GW of demand, including capacity for distribution network operators such as at Little Horsted.

Construction of the Little Horsted substation took place over two years and included the removal of approximately 65,000 cubic meters of earth to level the site. The material was reused locally to resurface polo fields in Polegate and to cap and landscape a landfill site in Horsham.

In October 2024, two supergrid transformers, each weighing 178 tons, were transported over 27 miles from Shoreham Port in Brighton to the site for installation.

As part of the project, 24 acres of land in Framfield were converted into an ecologically enhanced area to support protected species. Improvements included planting to create habitats for great crested newts, reptiles, dormice, bats, and badgers.

Paul Alchin, National Grid Project Manager, said, “We upgraded one of the overhead line circuits coming in and out of Little Horsted substation as part of the new development and will return to upgrade the second circuit at a later date.”

Paul Maslen, Project Manager at UK Power Networks, said, “The completion of this major substation will enable us to finish our adjacent substation which will offer increased energy capacity for our customers in the area who are set to use more electricity in future - including new connections. Most of the work on this, which is a separate project, is due to be completed by the Spring of 2027.”