Gerald Draper and his colleagues at the University of Oxford, and John Swanson of National Grid Transco, a power-transmission company, have looked at the distribution of childhood cancer along the power lines of the national electricity grid in England and Wales.

ECONOMIST: Power lines and cancer

Helen Mahy, one of only a handful of women General Counsels in the UK, has agreed to become chairwoman of Obelisk's advisory board when she retires from her job as group company secretary at National Grid next year.

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The pylons in question have been designed by engineers at TenneT, the firm that runs the Netherlands' national electricity grid, in collaboration with KEMA, a Dutch research company.

ECONOMIST: Monitor

Alan McLaughlin, from Centrica Energy, said the company had failed to secure new contracts for the plants with the National Grid and closure was one option being considered as a result.

BBC: British Gas power stations closure threat

He said that whatever happens from National Grid's point of view it was a "large and complex project" and the company "needs to get on with the early design and development of the project".

BBC: National Grid's north Wales development plans unveiled