Nuclear plant power cables could cut Menai bridge cost

The Welsh Government is discussing whether the proposed third Menai Strait road crossing could carry power cables for the planned Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station. However, the new road’s construction may be too far into the future for this to be possible.

Infrastructure secretary Ken Skates told the BBC: ‘What we’re doing at the moment is negotiating with National Grid on the potential to channel the cables for Wylfa Newydd through a shared crossing…. Our ambition would be to have that shared crossing, which would massively reduce taxpayers’ contribution.’

National Grid would recover the cost of the cable connection from electricity bill payers, rather than taxpayers or private sources. In September it said it was planning a £100m tunnel under the Menai Strait for the cables, which would connect Wylfa on Anglesey to the mainland.

A National Grid spokeswoman told Transport Network that it had been discussing the possibility of a shared crossing with the Welsh Government for some time, but National Grid had an obligation to provide the connection by 2024. ‘The timelines of the projects don’t match.’

The Welsh Government hopes construction of the road crossing could commence in 2021.

transport-network.co.uk