Several multi-million pound projects are currently happening across the utilities sector.
They include Western Power Distribution’s £4.2 million safeguarding of supplies in Nottinghamshire and Cadent upgrading a series of gas mains which have been operational since the 1940s.
Utility Week takes a look at some of these projects.
Western Power Distribution
WPD has announced it is spending £4.2 million on safeguarding power supplies to 18,000 customers in Nottinghamshire.
The work involves installing two new 33kV circuits from Toton to Long Eaton, rebuilding Toton and Long Eaton substation and decommissioning existing cable circuit and overhead lines.
The cabling work begins in early October and is expected to be complete by 31 May next year. The rebuilding of Toton and Long Eaton substations will also take place over the next few months.
Cadent
North West gas network manager Cadent is investing £3.5 million to upgrade mains in Cheshire.
Cadent says 27,000 metres of underground pipes will be replaced in Winsford over 12 months. The work will upgrade some pipes which have been used since the 1940s.
More than 87 per cent of the town’s 13,000 homes use gas for central heating.
The underground pipes are reaching the end of their safe working lives and have been identified for replacement as part of a UK-wide programme.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks
SSEN’s £8 million upgrade programme to improve the resilience of central Reading’s electricity infrastructure is now reaching its next phase.
The multi-million pound project involves the replacement of nearly 4KM of high voltage underground cable and the upgrade of the local substation serving the town’s residential and business customers.
When completed, the works will future-proof the network and its supply, allowing for further commercial and residential connections.
Electricity North West
Electricity North West is replacing overhead power lines in Uppermill, Greater Manchester, with underground power cables, as part of a £150,000 project.
The network upgrade will maintain supply to almost 1,000 homes and increase resilience in bad weather, the company has said.
Tony Broome, operations manager at Electricity North West, said: “The overhead power lines have been in place for 56 years and are coming to the end of their operational life.
“It’s our job to make sure that everyone in the North West constantly receive a reliable power supply and that’s why we’re investing £150,000 installing 750m of new underground power cables.
“The project is expected to take around four weeks and as always, we’ll be look to keep disruption to a minimum. I want to thank the people of Saddleworth in advance for their co-operation and understanding while we are in the area.”
UK Power Networks
UKPN is working with contractors to regenerate the Spitalfields area near Shoreditch in London. The work will enable new connections around Blossom Street, which will help bring old warehouses back into use.
It involves excavating trenches to lay pipework underground and pulling through new electricity cables.
Engineers will then return to open excavations at some points along the route to pull the new cables into position and join them to the local electricity network.