Three kilometres of overhead network running between Norrington and Trowbridge have been revamped and improved as part of Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks’ (SSEN) £10 million investment to ensure its 33kV and 132kV steel towers across central southern England are in the best possible condition for its 3.1m customers.
The works by SSEN engineers to install polymeric insulators and arcing horns, which will protect the overhead lines from lightning strike, were just part of the spring upgrade to the 14 towers and infrastructure supplying over 9,250 local homes and businesses.
Starting at the end of January, this £42,000 stage of the overall project across central southern England has now completed on time and to budget, with new anti-climb devices and safety signs installed in addition to the cleaning, prepping and painting of the towers themselves.
SSEN has been working with contractors OCS and Dalcour Maclaren to carry out and enable these works, which will continue throughout SSEN’s ED2 period, running until 2028.
Matt Norris is SSEN’s Project Manager for the works and explains more:
“This is a great example of safe and efficient joint-working, with Dalcour Maclaren agreeing and enabling land access and access routes to the towers, and SSEN fitting extra safety measures, before OCS taking up their role in the refurbishment and improvement of the towers.
“This overall £10 million investment over the next few years will not only mitigate potential risks but will also contribute to the overall resilience of the electricity infrastructure; safeguarding power supplies to the communities we serve and providing the network they need for now and for the years ahead.”
Matt continued:
“We’re delighted to have completed this phase of the works with no disruption to customers or the surrounding environment.”
These works are part of SSEN’s commitment to delivering a safe, secure and reliable supply of electricity, by investing over £10 million in its 33kV and 132kV steel towers across central southern England.