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You know that feeling when you’re explaining something important… but you’re not sure it’s landing?

That’s exactly what a recent experiment set out to explore, how to build real public support for something most people barely think about: the electricity network.

We’re talking about new power lines, substations, and other vital infrastructure upgrades across Great Britain. They’re essential for meeting energy demands and hitting climate targets but the public hasn’t always been on board.

So, how do you get people to care?
The answer might just come down to how you tell the story.

📌 TL;DR:

• Most people support national electricity upgrades but support drops for local developments

• Messages focused on jobs and climate change had the biggest impact on acceptance

• Women and rural residents responded differently to certain messages, tailoring matters

• Trust is low in media and high in developers but people rarely hear from the trusted ones

• There's a big opportunity to improve how (and who) communicates these changes

⚙️ Why Are We Even Talking About This?

Let me give you the context.

To keep up with rising electricity demand and connect low-carbon tech like wind and solar, Great Britain’s network needs a serious upgrade. That means more overhead lines, underground cables, and new substations, in real communities, near real homes.

But previous research showed most people didn’t really know why these changes were happening. So the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) commissioned new research to explore:

Can the right message make people more accepting of this critical work?

🧪 Inside the Experiment

The team at Verian UK ran an online experiment with over 3,600 participants. Everyone saw some basic info, but most were also shown one of five messages, each highlighting a benefit of building new infrastructure:

• 🌍 Climate: Supports the shift to low-carbon energy

• 🔐 Security: Improves national energy security

• ⚙️ Efficiency: Fixes inefficiencies in the current system

• 💼 Jobs: Creates new employment opportunities

• 🏘️ Community: Delivers local benefits

The goal?
To see if different messages made people more accepting of these developments, especially in their own backyards.

🔍 What Stood Out to Me

National Support Is Strong, But Local Resistance Lingers

80% of people found national upgrades acceptable. But when asked about developments closer to home? That number dropped to 68%.

Top concerns:

• 🌱 Impact on nature

• 🏞️ Impact on the view

So even with strong national support, local context changes things. Familiar, right?

💬 Jobs and Climate Messages Made a Real Impact

These two messages stood out:

• JOBS message boosted national acceptance to 83% (vs. 77% for the control group)

• CLIMATE message raised it to 82%

• For local projects, the JOBS message had the strongest positive impact

Bottom line: people respond when they can clearly see the practical or planetary payoff.

👥 Different People, Different Messages

This wasn’t one-size-fits-all.

• Women were most influenced by the CLIMATE message (+11 points)

• Urban residents responded best to JOBS (+12 points)

• Rural residents were moved most by the COMMUNITY message (+12 points)

These differences matter, especially because rural respondents were generally less accepting overall. So tailoring your message to your audience? It works.

🧠 Trust & Credibility: A Communication Gap

Here’s where it gets really interesting.

When asked who they trust to deliver this info, people said:

• Network developers like NGET and SSEN (39%)

• UK Government and official planning bodies (33%)

• Media? Just 21% trusted them

But get this:
Only 19% had actually heard anything from these trusted sources.
Instead, 43% had heard from the media.

That’s a huge disconnect. The people we trust aren’t speaking up enough.

💡 So... What Do People Actually Want to Know?

Participants said they still had questions, especially around:

• How these changes affect energy bills (51%)

• What local benefits they’d see (51%)

• Where exactly the new infrastructure would be built (47%)

Which means even when people accept the idea, they still need clarity on the impact.

🧭 My Final Thoughts

This research makes one thing crystal clear:
Support for energy infrastructure upgrades isn’t just about facts. It’s about framing.

When people understand why, in terms that feel real to them, they’re more likely to support the change. But different groups respond to different messages, and trust is easily lost when the wrong voice leads the conversation.

This isn’t just about pylons and substations. It’s about building trust, not just infrastructure.

👇 What’s Next for You?

If you’re working in energy, infrastructure, planning, or public engagement, here are a few questions worth asking:

• Are you talking about the why, not just the what?

• Are your messages tailored or generic?

• And are the most trusted voices the ones actually speaking?

Because clearly, the message matters.

📨 Until Next Time,

Thanks for reading.

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