The UK's National Grid has put on hold plans for a proposed 102-mile power line linking the country's transmission network to the Moorside nuclear power plant.
The electricity system operator said it was pausing work on the £2.8bn North West Coast Connections project after Moorside developer NuGen's decision to undertake a strategic review.
Earlier this year, Japan's Toshiba pulled out of the project's construction work after its Westinghouse unit filed for bankruptcy.
French energy group Engie also exercised its right to divest its 40% interest in NuGen to Toshiba.
NuGen has said the strategic review of the Moorside project was because of shareholder and vendor challenges.
National Grid said: "As a result of focussing their efforts on this review, NuGen are pausing work on their development consent order for Moorside.
"In light of this, we have decided to pause our work to consent NuGen's connection and take the time to understand NuGen's programme to make sure our projects are aligned."
National Grid noted that the consents should run in parallel, which will allow Planning Inspectorate to examine the consent application for the connection line knowing there is a strong need for it.
"Despite this pause, we are confident the connection will still be ready when NuGen requires it and are continuing to work closely with them," the electricity system operator said added.
Plans for the project to connect the Cumbria nuclear power plant with Britain’s grid, were announced in last October by the National Grid.