Balfour Beatty has been named as National Grid's contractor for the proposed Teesside Node A electricity substation at Dorman Point, where a 73.3-acre land agreement is advancing plans for what Teesworks expects to become the UK's largest substation. The agreement was reached on 28 October 2026 and confirmed publicly on 2 November.
The new 400kV facility is intended to provide an additional 1,440 MVA of electrical capacity to Steel River Power, which operates the private electricity network across Teesworks. Initial capacity is scheduled to come online by the end of 2029, although National Grid's outline planning application for the substation remains undecided.
Visualisation of the separate Net Zero Teesside Power development, involving Balfour Beatty, Technip Energies and GE Vernova. This is not a rendering of National Grid's proposed Dorman Point substation. Credit: Technip Energies / Balfour Beatty.
The 2 November announcement from Teesworks identifies Balfour Beatty as National Grid's delivery contractor and confirms that the site sits directly beneath existing 275kV and 400kV overhead transmission lines. The substation forms part of National Grid's Great Grid Upgrade programme and is intended to support electricity demand from industrial development, advanced manufacturing and potential AI and data-centre investment.
Capacity agreement predates the land deal
Steel River Power has held a contract with National Grid for the additional 1,440 MVA since 2024. The new development is the agreement for National Grid Electricity Transmission to acquire land at Dorman Point, allowing the transmission infrastructure to move towards physical delivery.
Steel River Power's existing network has a rated capacity of 360 MVA, of which 200 MVA is currently available to businesses and projects at Teesworks, according to the site operator's announcement. LCM calculates that the contracted 1,440 MVA addition is four times the capacity of the existing 360 MVA network. These are apparent-power capacity figures; the announcement separately describes the additional supply as 1.44GW.
The private network is operated by Steel River Power, a joint venture between Steel River Energy Limited and North West Electricity Networks, part of the ScottishPower/Iberdrola group. Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has also referred to potential future expansion to 3.2GW, although the initial capacity scheduled for the end of 2029 is the 1,440 MVA contracted addition.
The land transaction puts the proposed substation on a defined site within the former steelworks estate. Its position beneath the two existing transmission-line voltage corridors creates the opportunity to connect new high-voltage infrastructure to established electricity transmission assets.
The 400kV planning application remains undecided
National Grid Electricity Transmission submitted an outline planning application to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council on 24 September 2026 for land west of Tees Dock Road, Grangetown. The application, reference R/2026/0711/OOM, covers a proposed 400kV electricity transmission substation with all matters reserved.
The submitted scope includes a temporary connection arrangement, enabling works, a construction compound, internal access, parking, drainage, landscaping and associated development. Arcadis (UK) Limited is named as National Grid's planning agent.
When LCM checked the council's live planning register on 3 November 2026, the application was recorded as valid, with no decision or decision date entered. Public consultation is scheduled to close on 11 November 2026.
The council has already completed a separate environmental impact assessment screening process. Under reference R/2026/0531/SC, Redcar and Cleveland determined on 8 September 2026 that a full environmental impact assessment was not required for the proposed substation.
The outline application nevertheless includes a preliminary ecological appraisal, habitats assessment, biodiversity net gain report, flood risk assessment and other supporting documents. The EIA screening decision deals with the need for a formal environmental impact assessment; it is separate from the outstanding planning determination.
Balfour Beatty's delivery role
Balfour Beatty's position at Teesside follows its appointment in July 2025 as National Grid's regional substation delivery partner for the North East of England under the £8bn Electricity Transmission Partnership.
The partnership is designed to allocate substation work through longer-term regional delivery arrangements. National Grid expects approximately £8bn of substation construction work across the wider programme, covering around 130 projects. That programme figure is not a contract value for Teesside Node A.
Balfour Beatty's existing position was reinforced on 22 October 2026, when the contractor announced the first phase of National Grid's Birkhill Wood 400kV substation in East Yorkshire. That appointment covers early contractor involvement, detailed design development and enabling works ahead of the main construction stage.
LCM previously examined Balfour Beatty's national electricity transmission workload in Contractors Build Delivery Capacity for Britain's £181bn Grid Programme. The Teesside project provides a further identified scheme within the contractor's North East substation portfolio.
Teesworks has identified Balfour Beatty as the delivery contractor for Teesside Node A, but its announcement does not give an individual construction contract value or specify the commercial stage of the project-specific appointment.
Remediation comes before substation construction
Teesworks is progressing land remediation across the 73.3-acre Dorman Point site over a six-month period before handing the land to National Grid Electricity Transmission for the next development stage.
The sequence separates the current land-preparation work from construction of the proposed 400kV substation. Detailed layout and construction arrangements remain subject to the planning process, while the 2029 electrical-capacity programme establishes the intended operational deadline.
National Grid's transmission investment is becoming increasingly important to large data-centre developments. LCM's earlier analysis, Grid Power Becomes Critical Path for UK Data Centre Build-Out, examined how substations, high-voltage cabling and connection programmes can determine when proposed data centres become operational.
At Teesside, the additional capacity is contracted to the estate's private electricity network, which can supply multiple industrial and commercial users. The new substation is consequently part of the infrastructure needed to support future development across Teesworks, including potential data-centre investment, without implying that a particular data-centre construction contract has been awarded.
Redcar and Cleveland's consultation on the proposed 400kV substation remains open until 11 November 2026. Teesworks' six-month remediation programme is proceeding towards land handover, with the initial 1,440 MVA of additional capacity scheduled to become available by the end of 2029.
| LCM Project Record: Teesside Node A | |
|---|---|
| Location | Dorman Point, Teesworks, land west of Tees Dock Road, Grangetown, Redcar and Cleveland |
| Client | National Grid Electricity Transmission |
| Contractor and role | Balfour Beatty, identified by Teesworks as National Grid's substation delivery contractor |
| Other confirmed parties | Teesworks (land agreement and remediation); Steel River Power (contracted capacity recipient and estate network operator); Arcadis (planning agent) |
| Stage | Land agreement reached 28 October 2026; remediation and land preparation progressing; outline planning application undecided on 3 November 2026 |
| Planning | R/2026/0711/OOM, valid 24 September 2026; all matters reserved; consultation closes 11 November 2026 |
| EIA screening | R/2026/0531/SC, decision 8 September 2026: EIA not required |
| Proposed infrastructure | 400kV substation; initial 1,440 MVA additional capacity; associated temporary connection, compounds, access and drainage |
| Programme | Six-month land remediation programme announced 2 November 2026; initial capacity scheduled online by end of 2029 |
| Sources | Teesworks; Redcar and Cleveland planning register; Balfour Beatty |
How LCM calculated this
LCM reviewed the Teesworks announcement dated 2 November 2026 and the Redcar and Cleveland planning records on 3 November 2026. Teesworks gives Steel River Power's existing rated network capacity as 360 MVA and the additional contracted capacity as 1,440 MVA. Dividing 1,440 by 360 gives a fourfold comparison of the new capacity with the existing rated network capacity.
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