Substations & Utility Leases - Drafting & Negotiation in Property Transactions

Introduction

Substations and associated utility leases are no longer a niche topic: they are increasingly central to development delivery, grid connection, EV/energy infrastructure, and asset management. Yet many substation leases are still approached as ‘standard form’ documents, which can store up significant risk - whether through unclear rights of access, inadequate cable route rights, unworkable repair/insurance structures, missing relocation (‘lift and shift’) provisions, or insufficient protections around alienation, security, and operational requirements.

This virtual classroom seminar focuses on the practical realities of negotiating and completing substation and utility leases within property transactions: what should be checked early (title, constraints, third-party rights, plans), what needs to be nailed down at heads of terms stage and which clauses genuinely matter (and why).

Delegates will leave with a clearer framework for identifying risk, protecting client objectives (including future redevelopment) and avoiding the avoidable: delays, re-drafting, disputes, and unexpected cost exposure.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive course will cover the following:

• When a lease is appropriate versus an easement/wayleave/licence (and the practical consequences of getting the structure wrong)
• The key differences between distribution and transmission contexts (and how this affects documentation and negotiation stance)
• The due diligence checklist: title/plan issues, access, service media, third-party consents, physical constraints, and operational requirements
• How to define the demise properly (internal chamber vs compound; airspace/undersurface; clearance zones) and why plans are so often the source of later disputes
• Drafting the essential rights granted: access (24/7), maintenance, replacement, upgrades, cable routes, and rights to bring equipment onto the land
• Managing cable routes and ancillary rights: ensuring the ‘substation lease’ does not leave the operator without the rights needed to operate (or the landowner with unintended burdens)
• Term, rent, and rent review: what is market-typical, where the negotiation pressure points sit, and how to avoid unworkable review provisions
• Security of tenure: contracting out, renewal strategy, and how 1954 Act issues can surface with legacy arrangements (including what that means in a transaction)
• The clauses that matter most in practice:
• Alienation and group sharing/network arrangements
• Repair and reinstatement boundaries (including compound surfaces, fencing, drainage)
• Insurance responsibilities and operational risk allocation
• Indemnities, limitations, and third-party claims
• Health & safety, access protocols, and emergency rights
• Relocation/’lift and shift’: when it is realistic, how to draft it so it is usable, and how to avoid creating an unfinanceable redevelopment constraint
• Break clauses and decommissioning: ensuring the lease can end cleanly when the asset is redundant (and that reinstatement is properly controlled)
• Completing the deal: consents, Land Registry requirements, execution formalities, and common post-completion issues
• A practical approach to heads of terms for substations; what must be agreed early to prevent wasted legal spend and programme slippage

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.