If your power is off
Call 105, not National Grid
Free, 24/7. The 105 line routes you to your local distribution network operator. National Grid does not handle household power cuts. If you can see a downed line, sparking equipment or there is a risk to life, also call 999 and stay well clear.
What National Grid actually owns today
"National Grid" is shorthand for several things. The company has reshaped itself over the past decade, sold off whole businesses and bought others. Here is what the National Grid plc group owns in the UK today.
Electricity transmission (England and Wales)
National Grid Electricity Transmission owns the 400 kV and 275 kV pylons, cables and substations that move bulk electricity from power stations to regional substations across England and Wales.
Electricity distribution (Midlands, SW, S Wales)
After buying Western Power Distribution in 2021, the group renamed it National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED). NGED is the DNO for the East and West Midlands, the South West and South Wales: 7.9 million connections.
Interconnectors to Europe
National Grid Ventures co-owns subsea cables (interconnectors) that move electricity between Great Britain and France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and Denmark. These help smooth out short-term supply and demand swings.
What National Grid no longer owns: the gas distribution networks (sold off, now Cadent), the gas transmission system (now National Gas), and the electricity system operator role (now the independent NESO). If a piece of advice tells you to call "National Grid" for a household problem, it is almost always out of date.
Where National Grid sits in the journey of an electron
UK electricity travels through three layers before it reaches your kettle. National Grid owns parts of the first and second layers; it does not own the third.
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1
Transmission: the high-voltage motorway
Power leaves a power station at very high voltage (typically 400 kV) so less energy is lost over long distances. National Grid Electricity Transmission owns this motorway across England and Wales. SP Energy Networks and SHE Transmission own the equivalent in Scotland.
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2
Distribution: the local streets
At regional substations the voltage drops in stages (132 kV, 33 kV, 11 kV, finally 230 V) before reaching your meter. There are 14 distribution licences in Great Britain, run by six DNO groups. NGED, the National Grid distribution arm, runs four of them: Midlands East, Midlands West, South West and South Wales.
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3
Supply: your bill
A licensed supplier buys electricity on the wholesale market, pays transmission and distribution charges, then resells the electricity to you. The supplier is the only part of the chain you can switch. National Grid does not sell to households.
National Grid vs your DNO vs your supplier: the cheat sheet
"Call National Grid" is one of the most common pieces of bad advice in UK energy. For a household, National Grid is almost never the right call. Use the table below as a quick reference.
| Situation | National Grid? | Your DNO (105) | Your supplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power cut on your street | No | Yes | No |
| Downed wire or damaged pylon | No | Yes, plus 999 | No |
| Bill, payment, direct debit | No | No | Yes |
| Smart meter / move home | No | No | Yes |
| New EV charger or domestic solar | No | Yes (G98 / G99) | No |
| Large industrial or generator connection to 400 kV | Yes | No | No |
| Gas leak in the house | No | No | 0800 111 999 |
How National Grid earns and why offshore wind is changing it
National Grid Electricity Transmission is a regulated monopoly. Ofgem caps its allowed revenue under a multi-year framework called RIIO-T (T for transmission). Most of the recent settlements are dominated by a single problem: how to plug huge amounts of offshore wind into a transmission network that was built when wind farms barely existed.
Capped revenue
Ofgem caps the revenue National Grid Electricity Transmission can collect each year. Suppliers pay the transmission charge and pass it through to your bill.
North-to-south reinforcements
Most new offshore wind connects in the North Sea; most demand sits in the South. National Grid is building new high-capacity links (subsea HVDC, new overhead lines) to move that power from where it is generated to where it is used.
Constraint costs
When the transmission system cannot move all the wind power south, NESO pays wind farms to switch off and pays gas plants in the South to switch on. These "constraint costs" appear on every UK electricity bill and are one of the strongest cases for investing in the grid faster.
National Grid: frequently asked questions
No. Call 105 from any landline or mobile, free, 24/7. The 105 line routes you to your local distribution network operator (DNO), the company that actually maintains the cables in your street. National Grid owns the very high voltage motorway that connects power stations to substations: it is not in contact with your home.
No. National Grid does not sell electricity to households. The company that bills you for power, sets your tariff and reads your meter is your energy supplier (such as Octopus, British Gas, EDF, OVO). National Grid is regulated as a transmission monopoly and recovers its costs through charges paid by suppliers, which then appear as a small part of every bill.
No, not since 2017. National Grid sold a majority stake in its gas distribution business, which became Cadent. National Grid plc later sold the remainder. It also sold its electricity system operator (ESO) function to the new independent National Energy System Operator (NESO) in 2024. National Grid plc today is focused on high-voltage electricity transmission and on its electricity distribution business (NGED, formerly Western Power Distribution).
The National Energy System Operator (NESO), an independent public corporation since 2024. NESO took over the role previously performed by National Grid ESO. It is NESO, not National Grid plc, that decides which power stations turn up and down to keep frequency and voltage stable across Great Britain.
Call 105. The 105 service forwards to whichever transmission or distribution operator owns the asset. If there is an immediate danger to life (downed lines, fire, sparking), also call 999 and keep at least 25 metres clear.