Nearly £60bn is needed to build the British energy grid of the future in order to meet climate change mitigation milestones in just over 10 years, according to the National Grid.
The British electricity network needs £58bn in investment to meet 2035 decarbonising targets, National Grid said.
Funds are required to allow new sources of power, such as solar farms, to be connected to the grid and transported across the country, the electricity systems operator (ESO) said.
The system had been designed around the old sources of electricity, such as coal fields.
In the process of expanding grid capacity, 20,000 jobs could be created and 90% of them would be outside London and the southeast, the report added.
The plans, however, are said to be in the early stages – with planning permission yet to be sought and community consultation yet to take place.
National Grid is the London Stock Exchange-listed company that owns and runs the electricity network. The company also owns and operates infrastructure in the United States.
However, the government will take the electricity systems operator portion into state ownership later this year.
As well as changing types and locations of electricity generation, a beefed-up grid is needed to deal with more power use.