People living near new pylons across Britain will get money off their energy bills, under powers in the government’s upcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

Households within 500 metres of new or upgraded electricity transmission infrastructure will get electricity bill discounts of up to £2,500 over 10 years. This will see rural communities receiving hundreds of pounds in their pockets for hosting vital infrastructure. 

Where communities host this vital infrastructure, the government’s position on principle is that it is right these communities directly benefit from supporting this nationally critical mission. In turn, the government says this will benefit every household in the country by getting the UK off dependency on fossil fuel markets and protecting bill payers with clean homegrown power. 

Around twice as much new transmission network infrastructure will be needed by 2030 as has been built in the past decade, and the government says that until now too many projects have been bogged down in the pre-planning stage for many years trying to win local support.

Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner says: “We owe it to the people of this country to get Britain building again. It is no longer a question of whether we build the new infrastructure we need but a question of how and this must be done in lockstep with local communities.  

“This government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill will slash energy bills for local people living near new projects, so they benefit as we drive forward in our mission to achieve a more prosperous and energy secure future for the next generation.   This is delivering on our Plan for Change to accelerate growth in every region across the country, raising living standards and putting more money back into the pockets of working people and families.”

And Energy Secretary Ed Miliband adds: “The only way to make Britain energy secure and bring down bills for good is to get Britain off dependence on fossil fuel markets and replace it with clean, homegrown power that we control. 

“To do this, we need to get Britain building right now. And as part of that, we are delivering on our landmark commitment to ensure that people who live near infrastructure meaningfully benefit.  This will benefit the whole country by ensuring we build the clean power system we need.”

On top of that, the new community funds guidance means communities could get £200,000 worth of funding per kilometre of overhead electricity cable in their area, and £530,000 per substation. 

The government says these plans will provide particular benefit to rural communities, who will host a large amount of grid infrastructure.