Installation of new substation on land near Warley Grid

UK Power Networks owns and maintains electricity substations, cables and overhead lines across London, the South East and East of England and makes sure power flows reliably, safely, and securely.

We are currently at an early stage in developing proposals to build a new 132kV substation on land we have identified near the existing Warley Grid substation. Known as Upminster East 132kV substation, it is intended to replace our existing substation at Warley Grid.

In our role as the country’s biggest electricity distributor, we have invested £8 billion in our electricity networks since 2011, focusing on safety, network reliability, sustainability and affordability by caring for vulnerable customers, keeping costs low and helping to enable decarbonisation.

As part of these investments, the proposed new Upminster East 132kV substation will not only replace the existing substation at Warley Grid, but will help strengthen the  electricity network and provide additional electrical capacity for the local area ensure a reliable supply into the future. The new substation is expected to start operating by October 2033.

UK Power Networks’ proposals for Upminster East 132kV substation are among a number of activities being carried out locally as part of the wider upgrade to the electricity network. This includes separate proposals from National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) which will be the subject of a separate planning application to London Borough of Havering Council.

We will be seeking planning permission for Upminster East 132kV substation from the local planning authority, London Borough of Havering Council, under the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA) 1990.

We are currently undertaking surveys on an area of land identified by UK Power Networks from several different options, which we have reviewed to select the most appropriate location. The results of these surveys will inform the preparation of an ‘Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Screening Opinion Request’, which we anticipate submitting to the council in Spring 2026.

The council’s planning team will review our screening request and give their opinion on whether or not there might be any significant environmental impacts as a result of the project, on traffic, wildlife, noise or air quality.  
We’ll take what we learn from our ongoing surveys and use that information to shape the development of our plans for the Upminster East 132kV substation.

We expect these surveys to be completed by Summer 2026, after which we will engage with the local community, publish information and hold events locally.

We anticipate submitting our planning application for Upminster East 132kV substation to London Borough of Havering Council by the end of 2026.  

The site we have selected as our preferred location for the proposed substation is an area of land to the south of the existing Warley Grid substation.

This site has been chosen from a number of different options, which we reviewed to select the most appropriate location. We looked at several factors when we were choosing the site, including ability to connect the site to the existing overhead power line network and distance from the existing substation. We also made sure to select a site that was large enough to accommodate the proposed development and new landscaping. As part of the selection process we also considered topography, road access, environmental factors, landscape, visual impact and flood risk.

We are designing Upminster East 132kV substation as a Gas-Insulated Switchgear (GIS) substation. This type of substation requires much less land than a traditional Air-Insulated Switchgear (AIS) substation, like the one at the existing Warley Grid.

A GIS substation typically looks like an industrial building resembling a warehouse or shed, which house and screens from view, all the electrical equipment. By comparison an AIS substation is usually an open-air site with visible structures like metal frames, insulators and gantries spread across a larger area. AIS substations require more land because equipment needs space for safe air clearance between components.

Once the site is fully operational, the GIS substation will be unmanned, with occasional maintenance visits from operational staff.

We’re currently undertaking a range of environmental surveys to help us to refine our plans for Upminster East 132kV substation. When all these surveys are completed and our plans are more detailed, we’ll be engaging with the local community, holding information events and publishing our proposals online.

If you’d like to receive updates about Upminster East 132kV Substation as we progress our proposals and make more information available, you can register your details by emailing us at upminstereast132@ukpowernetworks.co.uk.

Alternatively, if you have any questions, please do contact the project community relations team by calling 0333 188 5314 or sending an email to upminstereast132@ukpowernetworks.co.uk.