Two public consultations for Rhiwlas GEN were held in 2023 and 2024. These asked for views on the route corridor and the proposed wood pole locations of the whole route.
Since then, we’ve carefully reviewed each piece of feedback, including specific suggestions for design changes, and considered the findings of ongoing environmental and engineering surveys.
This process has identified places where we could make updates to our proposals including moving the route alignment eastward outside the previous consultation corridor between the collector substation near Cefn Coch and Clatter.
As this is a change, we have launched a targeted consultation on this specific section so that the community can have its say before the statutory consultation on the whole route later in 2026.
This targeted consultation on the route section between Clatter and Cefn Coch runs from Wednesday 11 February 2026 to Wednesday 11 March 2026.
Why has this change been suggested?
The collector substation near Cefn Coch is part of the Vyrnwy Frankton project. Following statutory consultation, further engineering assessments and analysis of the cumulative effects on the area, a new location for the collector substation has been proposed. It has been repositioned to the northwest to reduce the total amount of infrastructure.
The collector substation remains within the Cefn Coch area, however, the route for the wood poles leading to it has changed.
Further details about the Vyrnwy Frankton project are available at www.greengenvyrnwyfrankton.com
Other considerations have also been given to potential planning applications in the region so a new route in this section has been proposed to take all these into account.
What will happen after this targeted consultation?
All the feedback we receive from this targeted consultation will be carefully considered as we develop our plans, alongside the findings of technical assessments and environmental surveys.
Our next step will be to develop a more detailed design and alignment for the new overhead line connections, including finalising locations for the wood poles, the underground connection section and any temporary infrastructure that may be required, such as access roads and construction lay-down areas.
We’ll then carry out detailed technical and environmental studies and plan to hold a statutory public consultation on the whole route later in 2026.
We will publish a report summarising the feedback from this targeted consultation and how this has influenced our proposals.
This will support the next public consultation, when people can provide input on the detailed route alignment, including any revised locations for the wooden poles, access routes and working areas.
New electricity lines of 132kV and above are classed as Significant Infrastructure Projects (SIPs) in Wales, requiring consent from Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW) and final decisions are made by the Welsh Ministers.
Following our pre-application consultation and completion of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) we will submit a planning application to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW) in 2027. Independent planning inspectors will then hold a final round of statutory consultation before making a recommendation to Welsh Ministers on whether or not to grant planning permission for the application.
If the project is consented, construction will begin in 2028, with energy distributed to homes and businesses in Wales by 2029.
Proposed new route alignment
Please click here to view a map outlining the proposed new route alignment.
Targeted consultation public drop-in event
This is an opportunity to talk to the project team and view the proposed change on larger maps.
Date: Wednesday 25 February 2026
Time: 4pm – 7pm
Venue: The Elephant & Castle, Broad Street, Newtown, SY16 2BQ
How to provide your feedback
