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Tata Steel’s Port Talbot EAF grid link faces an estimated 34-week piling delay, Senedd told

Poor ground at Margam has raised the piles needed for the Port Talbot furnace’s grid link from about 400 to 11,000, adding an estimated 34 weeks, a Senedd member said on 21 October. Wales’s economy minister left the timetable to Tata Steel.

By Mara AlvestadPublished 7 min read
Illustration: a substation under construction with rows of foundation piles beside a steelworks
Illustration of grid-connection construction beside a steelworks

Executive summary

  • Tata Steel UK’s £1.25 billion electric arc furnace (EAF) at Port Talbot needs a new grid connection, which National Grid is building. In the Welsh Parliament (Senedd) on 21 October 2026, a member said National Grid had told her that poor ground at its Margam substation had raised the number of foundation piles from about 400 to 11,000, adding an estimated 34 weeks to construction.
  • Another member said the grid connection had been contracted for the end of 2027 and that some sources put the furnace’s start as late as 2029.
  • Wales’s economy minister, Adam Price, called the timetable market-sensitive and said it was for Tata Steel to publish. Tata Steel UK has not published a new date. When building started in July 2025, it said commissioning would come at the end of 2027.
  • For buyers of UK strip and coil, the furnace will make about 3 million tonnes of steel a year. Port Talbot has made no steel of its own since its blast furnaces closed in 2024.

What happened

The exchange came during questions to the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Adam Price, on 21 October 2026 (Senedd Record of Proceedings). Benjamin Hodge Mckenna, a member for Afan Ogwr Rhondda, asked what the government was discussing with National Grid about the furnace (question OQ64761). He said the National Grid connection offer had been contracted for the end of 2027, but planning and ground conditions threatened to delay the project. He added that some sources said the new furnace might not come online until 2029.

Elyn Stephens, another member for the area, said she had visited National Grid at Margam over the summer. According to her, National Grid said poor ground conditions had raised the number of piles needed from an initial 400 to 11,000. It estimated this would add 34 weeks to construction, and it set out plans to recover some of the lost time. She asked whether any of the 34 weeks had been recovered.

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Price did not give a date. He said it was for the company to share information on the current position because it was market-sensitive, and that the workforce should hear it first. He said he had met Tata Steel UK chief executive Rajesh Nair and the steel unions at Port Talbot on 24 September. They had discussed the grid connection and the effect of UK trade quotas on the domestic market. He later met the UK’s Minister for Reindustrialisation, Blair McDougall, and the Secretary of State for Wales. Price also said the furnace would be the first or second-largest EAF in the world. He said Port Talbot could make more than half of the UK’s domestic steel capacity.

The 34-week figure is a member’s account of what National Grid told her. It is not a revised date from Tata Steel or National Grid, as Talking Wales also noted in its report. Delays to the grid work were first reported in June. At the time, Swansea Bay News said the furnace could be held up by up to eight months. Tata said then that the timeline “continues to evolve”.

The project is costed at £1.25 billion. The UK Government is paying £500 million of that (GOV.UK). At the July 2025 groundbreaking, Tata Steel UK said the furnace would be commissioned at the end of 2027. It said the furnace would melt UK scrap into about 3 million tonnes of steel a year and support 5,000 UK jobs. On 2 October, Nation.Cymru reported a Sky News story that ministers had hired EY to assess a Tata Steel request for more public support linked to the delay. The amount requested has not been disclosed. In late September, the Secretary of State for Wales said the government would give “careful consideration” to any proposal for financial support (BBC).

Key numbers

400 → 11,000 foundation piles needed at Margam, according to National Grid as told to Elyn Stephens MS ReportedSenedd record, 21 Oct 2026

≈27× increase in the number of piles (11,000 ÷ 400 = 27.5) Calc.Senedd record, 21 Oct 2026

34 weeks extra construction time National Grid estimated, before any recovery ReportedSenedd record, 21 Oct 2026

End of 2027 date for the contracted grid connection (Hodge Mckenna MS) and Tata’s planned commissioning FactTata Steel UK, 14 Jul 2025

Late Aug 2028 end of 2027 plus 34 weeks, if none of the time is recovered and all of it delays the furnace Calc.Senedd record, 21 Oct 2026

3 Mt/y planned steel output from UK scrap; £1.25bn project, £500m from the UK Government FactTata Steel UK, 14 Jul 2025

Fact = supported by the cited primary source or clearly attributed reporting/market assessment · Calc. = Loharo calculation from cited figures · Uncertain = an attributed claim not independently confirmed · Analysis = interpretation or forecast with sourced premises.

Why it matters

Analysis Thirty-four weeks is about eight months, so the figure matches the delay of up to eight months reported in June. If none of the time is recovered and all of it delays the furnace, the end-2027 date would move to about late August 2028. That is a scenario, not a forecast: National Grid says it is trying to recover time, and the furnace start does not have to move week for week with the substation work. What is new is that a figure from National Grid has now been stated on the parliamentary record, and the Welsh Government has passed the question of timing to Tata.

Analysis Until the furnace runs, Port Talbot has no steelmaking of its own. The UK’s strip mills therefore depend on feedstock made elsewhere. Price linked the grid problem to UK trade quotas and the domestic market. This means the furnace timetable, the UK’s import rules and Tata’s request for more support are now being discussed together. For European suppliers of slab and coil to the UK, a later start keeps that demand going longer. For UK buyers, it puts back the point when a 3 Mt/y domestic, scrap-based source of flat steel becomes available.

Analysis Port Talbot is not the only EAF project in Europe where timing is the main risk. voestalpine has finished installing its Donawitz furnace and plans first melts in the first half of 2027. ArcelorMittal has committed €300 million to a Dunkirk EAF. In both cases, the start date depends on grid power as much as on the furnace itself.

Who is affected

  • UK buyers of strip and coil: later domestic steel from scrap; plan 2028 contracts with both dates in mind (end-2027 and late 2028).
  • European and other suppliers of slab and coil to Tata Steel UK and the UK market: demand for feedstock may last longer than planned, subject to UK quotas.
  • UK scrap suppliers and exporters: the furnace will melt UK scrap. A later start delays that domestic demand.
  • Port Talbot workforce and supply chain: the minister said the workforce should hear any new timetable from the company first.

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What to watch

  • A Tata Steel UK statement with a revised commissioning date. The minister said this has to come from the company.
  • National Grid’s Margam programme: how much of the 34 weeks it says it has recovered.
  • The UK Government’s response to Tata’s request for more support, after the reported EY review.
  • Tata Steel’s quarterly results: any update on the UK business and the furnace.

Verification status: Verified

  • The Senedd exchange is verified against the official Record of Proceedings for 21 October 2026. The pile numbers and the 34-week estimate are reported as members’ statements of what National Grid said. They are not a revised schedule from Tata Steel or National Grid. Project cost, funding, capacity and the end-2027 commissioning plan come from Tata Steel UK and GOV.UK. The EY review is attributed to Sky News, as reported by Nation.Cymru. The late-August 2028 date and the 27× increase are Loharo calculations. Last fact-check: 26 October 2026.
  • Key: Verified = material factual claims are supported by an appropriate primary source or clearly attributed reporting/market assessments; Partially verified = a specific material claim remains unsupported, contradicted or materially overstated; Analysis = interpretation or forecast with sourced premises; Developing = material facts are checked but the situation is still changing.

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Sources

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Related on Loharo

Last fact-check: 26 October 2026 (Europe/Amsterdam).

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Facts, analysis and uncertainty are labelled in line with our editorial standards. Report an error – corrections are dated and noted on the article. Information and analysis only, not investment advice.

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