By Christian Moess Laursen

National Grid plans to ramp up investment in its electricity-transmission business as the world accelerates the transition from fossil fuels to clean power.

This follows a trend of energy utilities across Europe that are increasing investments to update old grids as they bet on a boom in power demand amid rising electrification, industrial decarbonization, and artificial-intelligence applications.

The British energy-infrastructure company said Wednesday that it will invest up to 35 billion pounds ($44.49 billion) in its electricity-transmission business over a five-year period running from April 2026 to March 2031.

It entails more than 11 billion pounds set aside to maintain and upgrade its existing networks, and around 24 billion pounds for pipeline investment including 15 billion pounds to increase network capacity.

Last month, Italy's Enel and its Spanish subsidiary Endesa hiked their planned electricity-grid investments to 2027 by around 40% and 45%, respectively.

A week earlier, German utility power provider Siemens Energy raised its 2028 financial targets, citing rising electricity demand globally due to population growth, higher living standards, industrial electrification, decarbonization and AI-driven data centers.

Next year's global power demand is set to be among the highest levels of the past two decades, according to a July report by the International Energy Agency.

National Grid's investment plans also follow those of its U.K. peers. Last week, FTSE 100-listed SSE outlined plans to invest at least 22 billion pounds in grid infrastructure, while Spanish giant Iberdrola said in October it would double its investment in the U.K. to up to 24 billion pounds through its Scottish Power business.

The investment plan outlines a financial framework needed to create an attractive, competitive investment opportunity in the global market, FTSE 100-listed National Grid said.

The plan will nearly double the amount of energy that can be transported around the U.K., it said.

It aligns with its target of investing 60 billion pounds across its business in the U.K. and the U.S. for the five years to March 2029, outlined in May.

National Grid is one of Europe's largest energy utilities by market capitalization and operates in New York, Massachusetts and the U.K.

Write to Christian Moess Laursen at christian.moess@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 18, 2024 07:03 ET (12:03 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.