The Dorset village of Charminster is benefitting from a £2.6 million upgrade to its electricity infrastructure as works begin on the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) project on Monday 28 August 2023.

Running until March of next year, this significant upgrade project will see the replacement of 4.6 kilometres of existing underground cabling with modern, more efficient cables that will boost the resilience of power supplies for the homes and businesses in the local area; creating a more robust network in the face of severe weather events, which have the potential to cause power cuts.

With over 3,350 residents, the residents of the Dorset village will also benefit from the upgraded infrastructure as they seek to meet net zero goals and adopt more low carbon technologies, such as electric vehicles, solar panels and heat pumps.

SSEN’s Project Manager for the works is Aaron Reed. He said:

“As a considerate constructor, SSEN has been working with stakeholders and local partners prior to this upgrade project starting to ensure the works are carried out with the least possible inconvenience to local residents and business owners. We’ll be engaging with the community throughout the project with regular updates and open communications to provide progress reports and to address any questions.

“Due to the nature of the works, some traffic management systems will have to be in place at certain points of the upgrade. I’d like to reassure our customers that these measures have been carefully planned with both Highways England and Dorset Council to ensure that the potential for noise or disruption have been minimised.”

Aaron continued:

“My team and I are delighted to be working on this upgrade that will keep the power flowing for our Charminster customers, with a network that is fit for the future and all of their needs for many years to come.”

To ensure the safety of pedestrians, road users and SSEN engineers, temporary traffic management systems will be in place on Wanchard Lane, Mill Lane and Vicarage Lane for some of the upgrade works.

Customers are assured that prior to any traffic management implementation detailed information will be communicated to residents and business owners in advance.  Additionally, the project’s working hours will be limited to Monday to Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with no works being carried out during weekends.

There are no planned power interruptions scheduled to take place during the works, but anyone who has concerns about vulnerability during power cuts is reminded of SSEN’s Priority Services Register.

Customers are eligible for SSEN's free Priority Services Register (PSR) if they: 

  • Are deaf or hard of hearing
  • Have a disability
  • Live with children under five
  • Are blind or partially sighted
  • Have a chronic illness
  • Use medical equipment/aids reliant on electricity
  • Are over 60
  • Temporarily need extra support

To find out more about the PSR, click here or call 0800 294 3259.

As the distribution operator for central southern England, SSEN invests over £150 million a year in building resilience across its network, through upgrading and reinforcing the electricity infrastructure. This includes around £20 million a year on regular tree cutting and maintenance, over £12 million targeted for refurbishing overhead lines and over £2 million to install Automated Devices on parts of the network to enable the faster restoration of customer supplies in the event of a fault.