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Britain’s electricity transmission network owners have set out plans to invest up to £77.4bn between 2026 and 2031 to meet the UK government’s clean power targets.

National Gridwhich owns the transmission network in England and Wales, has submitted plans to the regulator to invest up to £35bn in the period, it said on Wednesday.

ScottishPower Energy Networks, which covers transmission for central and southern Scotland, said it planned to invest £10.5bn, while SSEN Transmission, which covers northern Scotland, said earlier this month it planned to spend up to of £31.7bn.

This marks a major investment step, which will help the UK meet its target of decarbonising the electricity system by 2030.

Electricity networks need to be strengthened, expanded and upgraded to transfer power from the growing number of wind and solar farms to consumers.

A large backlog of connection requests has built up over the past few years, raising concerns that limited network capacity is preventing renewable energy development and broader economic growth.

In a report last month, the government’s state-owned National Energy System Operator said that, to meet the 2030 target, twice as much transmission network will need to be built in the next five years than developed in the last decade.

John Pettigrew, chief executive of National Grid, said the plans were “unprecedented” and represented “the most significant step forward in the electricity network we have seen in a generation”.

However, the plans risk raising questions about the impact on Britain’s consumers’ energy bills, which include a charge to fund the networks.

National Grid says the planned investment in transmission will amount to around £40 per year in annual household bills, up from around £20 per year currently.

Scottish Power said its plans would cost around £12.07 a year in energy bills, up from £5.60 currently. Higher network costs should be offset by reduced payments to compensate generators that are asked to turn off at certain times due to limited network capacity.

Meanwhile, the residents of many areas protest against the new pylons and electric cables in their neighborhoods, raising questions about whether some plans will be blocked.

Nicola Connelly, chief executive of ScottishPower Energy Networks, said the investment “will help stabilize and lower consumers’ energy bills in the longer term”.

It comes as the government prepares to launch a review of Ofgem, the energy regulator, later this week.

Government figures say the energy department wants to overhaul the regulator to ensure it can better prevent companies from reporting wrongdoing and force them to raise their standards.

The review is also expected to propose automatic customer compensation for corporate failures in the energy market.

On Tuesday, the government brought forward next year a planned decision on whether to support the use of hydrogen in home heating.

The fuel is considered a low-carbon alternative to the gas-fired boilers that currently heat most homes, along with electric heat pumps.

The former Conservative government said the call would be made in 2026 after the trials.

But the Labor government says it wants to “provide strategic clarity on decarbonising home heating as soon as possible” and will consult on the matter next year.

“The government already supports existing low-carbon heat options such as heat pumps and heat networks, which are the main means of decarbonization for the foreseeable future,” it added.