Construction of £18million reinforcement to North Shropshire’s electricity network underway
Construction is now underway on an £18million project to improve the electricity network in North Shropshire, which is SP Energy Networks’ largest reinforcement investment in England and Wales.
A new 132,000-volt wood pole overhead line will be constructed between Oswestry and Wem, and the existing substation at Wem upgraded, boosting network capacity and resilience throughout North Shropshire.
The project was granted planning permission by Alok Sharma, Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), in March 2020 and will help SP Energy Networks facilitate the increased demand on its network in the coming years from low carbon technologies such as electric vehicles and electric heating.
Whilst pre-engineering works commenced in 2020, the main construction will commence in May and is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, with measures in place to ensure any disruption is kept to a minimum.
The SP Energy Networks team has been in regular dialogue with local communities and other stakeholders throughout the process to ensure that the project is delivered safely and efficiently.
Mark Sobczak, Head of 132kV Programmes at SP Energy Networks, said: “This is our largest reinforcement project in England and Wales, which will help increase network resilience and enable future growth to support decarbonisation across North Shropshire.
“It underlines our commitment as a Distribution Network Operator (DNO) to lead the way towards achieving Net Zero emissions targets and future proof our network.
“As the country makes its green economic recovery, we are investing to make sure that people in North Shropshire can make a smooth transition to more environmentally-friendly energy solutions, supported by a resilient network.”
SP Energy Networks is part of the ScottishPower group, a Principal Partner for the United Nations climate change conference (COP26) to be held in Glasgow later this year. It is developing an energy model that will play a significant role in reaching the UK’s world-leading climate change targets and is investing a total of £10bn in the clean energy generation and networks infrastructure needed to help the UK decarbonise and reach Net Zero emissions.
SP Energy Networks owns and manages overhead and underground powerlines in southern and central Scotland as well as Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales and north Shropshire.
