Introduction

“Levelling up” in the UK policy context refers broadly to reducing regional disparities in economic opportunity, productivity, infrastructure quality, public services and living standards. Electricity infrastructure is central to this objective because regional economic development increasingly depends upon reliable electricity networks, grid capacity, renewable generation, storage, interconnection and affordable energy.

The legal significance of levelling-up policy is that electricity infrastructure is not merely an engineering or economic matter. Decisions concerning transmission lines, substations, renewable-energy projects, storage facilities and distribution networks involve planning law, environmental law, electricity regulation, administrative law, public participation and judicial review.

The UK's current electricity-network framework expressly recognises the importance of new network infrastructure for connecting generation, storage and interconnection needed for Clean Power and net zero. The 2025 National Policy Statement for Electricity Networks Infrastructure (EN-5) states that electricity networks are as important as generation infrastructure in delivering the government's Clean Power 2030 objective. GOV.UK

1. Meaning of Levelling Up in Energy Infrastructure

Levelling up can be applied to electricity infrastructure through several dimensions:

1. Regional infrastructure equality – improving electricity networks in areas with inadequate capacity.
2. Economic regeneration – providing grid infrastructure capable of supporting industry and investment.
3. Energy affordability – reducing infrastructure-related constraints that contribute to higher costs.
4. Energy security – strengthening networks against outages and system shocks.
5. Clean-energy deployment – connecting renewable generation and storage.
6. Community participation – ensuring affected communities participate in infrastructure decisions.
7. Environmental justice – preventing disadvantaged communities from carrying disproportionate environmental burdens.

Thus, levelling up does not necessarily mean constructing identical infrastructure everywhere. It means addressing structural differences in infrastructure capacity and opportunity.

2. Electricity Infrastructure as a Foundation of Regional Development

Electricity networks have traditionally been viewed as natural monopolies whose primary regulatory objectives are reliability, efficiency and consumer protection.

The levelling-up perspective adds another question:

Does the electricity network provide the infrastructure necessary for different regions to participate in economic development?

This is increasingly important because areas with renewable resources may possess substantial generation potential but lack sufficient transmission capacity.

For example, a region may have:

• offshore wind resources;
• solar potential;
• industrial land;
• hydrogen projects;
• data centres;
• manufacturing opportunities;

but still experience delayed investment because the electricity network cannot accommodate additional demand or generation.

Consequently, grid capacity becomes a regional-development asset.

3. Legal Framework

Several areas of UK law interact in this field.

Electricity Act 1989

The Electricity Act 1989 establishes the principal statutory framework for electricity generation, transmission, distribution and supply. It also provides statutory mechanisms relating to electricity infrastructure and regulatory enforcement. Legislation.gov.uk

Planning Act 2008

Major electricity infrastructure can fall within the nationally significant infrastructure project framework, requiring Development Consent Orders.

Government decisions on energy infrastructure include DCOs under the Planning Act 2008 and certain consents under the Electricity Act 1989. GOV.UK

National Policy Statements

National Policy Statements provide an important policy framework for determining major infrastructure applications.

EN-5 specifically addresses electricity networks infrastructure and recognises the need for significant network expansion to accommodate new generation, storage and interconnection. GOV.UK

Planning and Energy Act 2008

The Planning and Energy Act 2008 is particularly relevant to the relationship between national and local energy policy because it gives local authorities statutory powers concerning energy-efficiency policies in development plans.

The litigation concerning local energy-efficiency standards illustrates the constitutional importance of this relationship. Supreme Court UK

4. Levelling Up and Grid Capacity

One of the most significant legal-policy problems is the unequal geographical distribution of grid capacity.

Suppose two regions have comparable economic-development potential:

• Region A has substantial available network capacity.
• Region B has severe network constraints.

Private investors may naturally prefer Region A because connecting new facilities is easier and faster.

This can create a self-reinforcing infrastructure inequality:

weak grid → fewer investments → weaker economic growth → lower investment → continuing infrastructure weakness.

Levelling-up policy can therefore justify treating network investment as a strategic regional-development tool rather than simply a response to existing electricity demand.

The 2025 EN-5 policy reflects the broader national importance of network expansion for connecting new generation, storage and interconnection. GOV.UK

5. Renewable Energy and Regional Levelling Up

Renewable energy creates a particular geographical problem.

Renewable resources are not distributed according to existing electricity demand.

For example:

• offshore wind is concentrated around coastal areas;
• solar development can be concentrated in particular regions;
• hydroelectric resources are geographically concentrated;
• major industrial demand may occur elsewhere.

Consequently, electricity infrastructure must transport electricity from areas of generation to areas of consumption.

This makes transmission infrastructure a redistributive infrastructure mechanism.

The legal planning system therefore has to reconcile:

• national energy objectives;
• regional economic development;
• local environmental interests;
• landowner rights;
• community objections;
• biodiversity;
• landscape impacts; and
• energy-security considerations.

6. Local Government and Energy Infrastructure

Levelling-up policy also raises questions about the appropriate division of authority between central and local government.

Central government may favour rapid national infrastructure development, whereas local authorities may emphasise:

• local environmental conditions;
• housing;
• local infrastructure;
• community preferences;
• local economic benefits;
• development costs.

The courts have recognised that national policy does not automatically eliminate statutory powers held by local authorities.

This issue arose directly in R (Rights: Community: Action Ltd) v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

7. Case Law: Rights: Community: Action Ltd

R (Rights: Community: Action Ltd) v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2024] EWHC 1693 (Admin)

The case concerned a 2023 Written Ministerial Statement concerning local energy-efficiency standards.

The claimant argued, among other things, that the Minister had unlawfully restricted local authorities' statutory powers under section 1 of the Planning and Energy Act 2008. BAILII

The litigation subsequently reached the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal described the dispute as concerning national policy on local policies that set building-efficiency standards exceeding building regulations. BAILII

The Supreme Court refused permission to appeal in November 2025, meaning the Court of Appeal decision remained the final judicial determination in that litigation. Supreme Court UK

Importance

The case demonstrates an important principle for levelling-up policy:

national energy policy must operate within the statutory framework governing local authorities.

Central government cannot simply treat a policy preference as though it were legislation.

This is particularly important where energy policy intersects with local planning and regional development.

8. Environmental Justice and Infrastructure

Levelling up cannot be reduced to economic investment.

Electricity infrastructure can impose local costs through:

• transmission towers;
• substations;
• underground cables;
• landscape alteration;
• construction traffic;
• noise;
• biodiversity impacts;
• land acquisition.

A legally sustainable levelling-up strategy must therefore address both benefits and burdens.

This produces an important distinction:

Distributional justice

Who receives the benefits?

Procedural justice

Who participates in decisions?

Recognition justice

Whose interests and circumstances are recognised?

Electricity infrastructure planning increasingly requires consideration of all three.

9. Case Law: Finch v Surrey County Council

R (Finch) v Surrey County Council [2024] UKSC 20

The Supreme Court considered whether environmental assessment for an oil-production project had to account for downstream combustion emissions.

The litigation concerned planning permission and environmental-impact assessment, with the claimant arguing that the assessment should include emissions resulting from combustion of the oil produced. Supreme Court UK

Although the case was not specifically a levelling-up case, its significance for energy infrastructure is substantial.

It demonstrates that infrastructure decision-making may require authorities to consider environmental consequences beyond the immediate physical construction site.

Relevance to levelling up

A project may generate substantial regional economic benefits while producing environmental impacts extending beyond the project location.

Consequently, infrastructure policy must avoid treating regional economic benefit as automatically overriding environmental obligations.

10. Case Law: ClientEarth v Secretary of State

R (ClientEarth) v Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [2021] EWCA Civ 43

The case concerned the interpretation and legal effect of the National Policy Statements for Energy, including EN-1 and EN-2, in determining a nationally significant infrastructure project. BAILII

The case illustrates the importance of correctly understanding the legal status of national energy policy.

National Policy Statements provide an important framework for infrastructure decision-making, but their legal operation must be understood alongside statutory requirements.

Levelling-up relevance

A national energy strategy must therefore be translated into lawful individual infrastructure decisions.

There is a legal chain:

national policy → planning framework → infrastructure application → environmental assessment → decision → judicial review.

Levelling-up objectives must operate through that chain rather than outside it.

11. Case Law: C G Fry & Son Ltd v Secretary of State

C G Fry & Son Ltd v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2025] UKSC 35

The Supreme Court considered the relationship between planning permission, national planning policy and statutory environmental requirements.

The Court emphasised that national planning policy is a material consideration, but distinguished policy from legal rules established by legislation. Supreme Court UK

The case involved environmental protection and the discharge of planning conditions.

Importance for electricity infrastructure

The principle is particularly relevant to major infrastructure:

Policy objectives cannot simply displace statutory legal requirements.

Thus, even where electricity infrastructure is regarded as nationally or regionally important, decision-makers must continue to comply with legislation governing environmental protection, planning and procedural requirements.

12. Grid Infrastructure and the “Place” Problem

Levelling up creates a difficult legal question:

Where should infrastructure be built when the benefits and burdens fall in different places?

Consider a transmission project:

• renewable generation occurs in northern England;
• transmission infrastructure crosses several local authorities;
• electricity is ultimately consumed across Britain;
• economic benefits may be distributed nationally;
• landscape impacts are concentrated locally.

This creates a geographical mismatch between:

local costs and national benefits.

The legal planning system therefore has to provide mechanisms for considering both scales.

13. Community Benefits

One response is to provide communities hosting major infrastructure with tangible benefits.

Possible mechanisms include:

• community funds;
• local investment;
• reduced energy costs;
• local employment;
• infrastructure improvements;
• skills programmes;
• business opportunities.

However, community benefits must be carefully designed.

They should not become a substitute for proper environmental assessment or public participation.

A community should not be understood as having “sold” its legal rights merely because it receives financial benefits.

14. Electricity Distribution and Deprived Areas

Levelling-up policy is especially relevant to electricity distribution networks.

A distribution network determines whether businesses and households can reliably receive electricity.

Infrastructure deficiencies can affect:

• industrial investment;
• housing development;
• electrification of heating;
• electric-vehicle charging;
• digital infrastructure;
• local employment;
• public services.

Thus, distribution-network investment can operate as a precondition for regional economic development.

15. Energy Poverty and Levelling Up

Energy poverty provides another connection between electricity infrastructure and levelling up.

Infrastructure affects the ability of households to benefit from:

• efficient electric heating;
• smart meters;
• distributed generation;
• battery storage;
• demand response;
• electric vehicles.

However, infrastructure investment alone does not guarantee affordability.

A comprehensive legal framework must combine:

network regulation + consumer protection + social policy + energy efficiency.

16. Planning Delays and Regional Inequality

Long infrastructure approval processes can themselves produce regional inequality.

If a renewable-energy or industrial project cannot obtain grid connection for many years, investment may move elsewhere.

Consequently, the legal system faces a balancing problem:

Faster approval

Can accelerate infrastructure and economic development.

Stronger procedural requirements

Can protect communities, environmental interests and legality.

The solution is not necessarily to eliminate legal safeguards. Rather, effective infrastructure governance requires efficient procedures that preserve substantive legal protections.

17. Judicial Review and Levelling-Up Infrastructure

Judicial review plays an important constitutional role.

Challenges may concern:

• failure to consider relevant considerations;
• consideration of irrelevant matters;
• statutory interpretation;
• environmental assessment;
• procedural fairness;
• irrationality;
• unlawful policy;
• failure to comply with statutory duties.

The existence of judicial review can therefore improve the legality of infrastructure decisions.

At the same time, the government has recently proposed reforms concerning judicial review of major infrastructure projects. In May 2026, HM Treasury announced proposals concerning Parliament's role in approving certain critical energy schemes and reducing exposure to judicial review, subject to the proposed legislative framework. GOV.UK

These developments demonstrate the continuing constitutional tension between:

infrastructure acceleration and legal accountability.

18. Levelling Up and Energy Security

Electricity infrastructure is also connected with energy security.

A resilient electricity system requires:

• diversified generation;
• adequate transmission;
• strong distribution networks;
• interconnection;
• storage;
• system flexibility;
• cybersecurity;
• resilience against extreme weather.

Regional investment can therefore contribute simultaneously to:

economic development + energy security + decarbonisation.

The current EN-5 framework explicitly connects network infrastructure with security and reliability of electricity supply and the transition to Clean Power. GOV.UK

19. Key Legal Principles

Several principles emerge from the relationship between levelling-up policies and electricity infrastructure.

1. Statutory authority

Infrastructure decisions must remain within statutory powers.

2. National policy matters

National energy and planning policies are important material considerations.

3. Policy is not legislation

Government policy cannot automatically override statutory requirements.

4. Environmental assessment

Major infrastructure must comply with applicable environmental obligations.

5. Procedural fairness

Affected communities must receive appropriate opportunities for participation.

6. Proportionality and rationality

Public authorities must act within the limits imposed by administrative law.

7. Multi-level governance

Central government, regulators, local authorities and communities have interconnected responsibilities.

20. Critical Assessment

Levelling-up policies can transform electricity infrastructure from a narrow utility issue into an instrument of regional economic policy.

However, there are several risks.

Risk 1: Centralisation

If levelling up is interpreted solely as a national government programme, local planning autonomy may be weakened.

Risk 2: Infrastructure exceptionalism

Calling a project “nationally important” should not automatically remove environmental or procedural safeguards.

Risk 3: Unequal infrastructure burdens

Less economically powerful communities may end up hosting infrastructure primarily for the benefit of other regions.

Risk 4: Unequal grid investment

Investment may continue to favour already prosperous areas unless regulators and government explicitly address infrastructure constraints.

Risk 5: Policy uncertainty

Frequent changes in national energy policy can create uncertainty for investors and local authorities.

21. A Legal Model for Levelling-Up Electricity Infrastructure

A coherent legal model can be represented as:

Regional inequality

↓

Identification of infrastructure gap

↓

Grid-capacity assessment

↓

National and regional energy planning

↓

Investment and regulatory incentives

↓

Planning and environmental assessment

↓

Community participation

↓

Infrastructure approval

↓

Construction and connection

↓

Monitoring of regional economic and energy outcomes

This model treats electricity infrastructure as a long-term public-interest asset rather than simply a commercial network.

Conclusion

Levelling-up policies and electricity infrastructure are closely connected because reliable and adequately planned electricity networks are increasingly prerequisites for regional economic development, clean-energy deployment and energy security.

UK law nevertheless imposes important constraints on how these objectives can be pursued. The Electricity Act 1989, Planning Act 2008, environmental legislation, national policy statements and local planning legislation collectively establish a framework within which infrastructure decisions must operate. Legislation.gov.uk

The cases of Rights: Community: Action, Finch, ClientEarth, and C G Fry demonstrate different dimensions of the legal problem: the relationship between national and local policy, environmental assessment, the legal status of national policy, and the continuing importance of statutory requirements. Supreme Court UK

Ultimately, the legal challenge is to design electricity infrastructure governance that can reduce regional infrastructure disparities while respecting environmental protection, local participation, statutory limits and administrative-law principles. Levelling up therefore requires not merely more electricity infrastructure, but a legally accountable system for deciding where infrastructure is needed, who benefits, who bears its costs, and how those decisions are justified.