Northern Powergrid invests in North East as Ofgem targets missed

The Newcastle-based firm, owned by US conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, missed key Ofgem power cut targets for 2025 as storms battered the North East

Energy network operator Northern Powergrid says it is ploughing billions of pounds into its infrastructure across the North East, despite falling short of key power outage targets owing to adverse weather conditions.

The Newcastle-based firm manages the power lines and network serving approximately 1.6million customers across an area stretching from the far reaches of Northumberland down to York, and westward to the Pennines.

Newly published accounts reveal that Northern Powergrid (Northeast) plc committed £271.4m in investment during 2025, as part of a wider £2.8bn spending programme running through to 2028. That expenditure encompassed transformer refurbishments, overhead line rebuilds, cable replacements and damaged pole renewals, amongst other works carried out across its 42,000km of overhead and underground cables and more than 28,000 substations.

The firm also pressed ahead with the installation of an automatic power restoration system across its high voltage network, while at low voltage level, “next generation” equipment fitted with fault-detection sensors was introduced.

These upgrades come despite Northern Powergrid falling short of key power outage targets set by industry regulator Ofgem. On the measure of customer minutes lost — the average number of supply minutes lost per connected customer due to outages lasting longer than three minutes — the company recorded 46.8 minutes, exceeding the target of 41.1 minutes, though this represents an improvement on the 2023/24 figure of 49.5 minutes.

On customer interruptions — the average number of supply disruptions per every 100 connected customers due to power cuts lasting more than three minutes — Northern Powergrid recorded 51 minutes, exceeding the 46.7-minute target and rising from the 2023/24 figure of 48.6 minutes. Senior figures attributed the results to adverse weather conditions throughout the year and a rise in planned maintenance works to upgrade equipment, reports Chronicle Live.

The overall duration of power cuts fell by 4.8% when compared to 2024. Those figures emerged as the North East was struck early in 2025 by the destructive Storm Éowyn, before Storm Bram unleashed wind and rain towards the end of the year.

The accounts also reveal that operating profits at the company dropped from £264.1m to £183.3m during the year, as revenue declined from £536.4m to £457.9m. A £160m dividend was paid out, with Northern Powergrid’s parent company being US conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway.

Alex Jones, finance director at Northern Powergrid, said: “Northern Powergrid is investing £2.8bn in the current five-year regulatory period through to 2028, following the successful delivery of a £3bn eight-year investment plan between 2015 and 2023, upgrading the power network to homes and businesses across the North East, Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

“To support this investment, since 2005 Northern Powergrid has reinvested over 70% of its profits, after tax, back into the business.

“We are committed to providing the best possible service to our customers and our investment programmes ensure we are continuing to improve network resilience and reliability for our customers, and helping to create a greener energy system for the communities we serve.”