Wales consults on putting new electricity lines underground
The Welsh Government is consulting on a planning rule that would make underground cables the default for new electricity circuits between 11 and 132 kilovolts, ending the use of large steel lattice pylons for those lines. The proposal concerns onshore circuits associated with devolved electricity generation projects. It is a consultation on how to design and implement the policy, rather than a rule already in force.
The proposed electricity-line policy
- Default
- Underground cables
- Overhead exceptions
- Environmental, technical or economic evidence
- Overhead supports
- Low wooden poles or equivalent; no steel lattice pylons
- Status
- Consultation, not an adopted rule
When could overhead lines be allowed?
The consultation proposes three tests for an overhead exception. An environmental test would require evidence that undergrounding would cause more environmental harm than an overhead line. A technical test would cover cases where geology or geography made undergrounding physically impossible, or the engineering risk was unacceptable. An economic test would require evidence that putting the circuit underground would make the project financially unviable. Overhead alternatives would use low wooden poles or equivalent, less intrusive structures, with steel lattice pylons excluded. The proposed order of preference is underground cables first, then wooden poles, then other less intrusive options where justified.
What would change?
Current Planning Policy Wales already favours underground lines where possible, balanced against costs that could make an otherwise acceptable project unviable. The new approach would replace that policy with an underground default and explicit tests for exceptions. The document says buried cables can reduce visual impacts and vulnerability to some severe weather, but are generally more expensive to install and maintain and can cause disruption during construction. Ministers are seeking evidence on those trade-offs and possible effects on electricity costs, without giving a household bill estimate.
Which projects are outside the proposal?
Transmission infrastructure above 132 kV is outside the consultation. The proposed policy would also exclude circuits covered by permitted development rights and projects consented by the UK Government. It does not require existing pylons to be removed. Ministers intend to introduce the change through planning policy statements and a later revision of Planning Policy Wales. The full consultation document gives 15 January 2027 as the closing date and links to the response form.