But 61 Labour MPs who entered the Commons after the general election in summer have now sent a separate letter to Mr Miliband insisting he should stand his ground.
The letter, first reported by The Guardian, said: “The cheapest and most pragmatic way to meet our energy needs is to reject the Conservative and Green MPs’ ideological and expensive presumption in favour of undergrounding of cables.
“Britain has suffered the worst cost of living crisis in generations, driven by Conservative government failure to reduce our vulnerability to volatile fossil fuel markets.”
The MPs noted that domestic electricity prices were higher in Britain than any EU member state at the end of last year, adding: “When clean power is produced here, transmitted here and consumed here, we will be far safer and have more control over our bills.
“We urge you to put the needs of British bill-payers, our industry, and our economy and retain the pylon presumption in the centralised strategic network plan.”
Signatories to the letter include Jeevun Sandher and Yuan Yang, both of whom sit on the Treasury select committee. It has also been signed by Luke Murphy, Josh McAlister and Polly Billington, members of the energy select committee.
The support of dozens of his MPs will come as a relief to Sir Keir, whose Government has already experienced the first indications of a backbench revolt on the issue.