Saltash power upgrade boosts electricity for homes

More than 130 homes in the Cornish town of Saltash will benefit from more reliable electricity supplies after the completion of a vital upgrade to underground power cables serving Summerfields and Castle View in St Stephens.

The £250,000 project saw engineers excavate 432 tonnes of material to lay new cabling across 638 metres of footpath and short sections of road – around the length of five football pitches.

We identified 15 locations where ageing cables were at risk of developing faults and estimate the investment will prevent more than 3,000 hours of future power interruptions for customers.

Richard Cornelius, who led the engineering team on the three-month project, said: “We’d like to say a big thank you to all the residents for their patience and understanding while this important work was carried out, as we recognise it was disruptive and inconvenient.

“Customers will now experience more reliable electricity supplies, as we’ve replaced ageing infrastructure that was nearing the end of its working life and becoming prone to more faults, leading to power cuts.

“We've also added extra capacity to the local network, helping to support the growing use of electric vehicle chargers, solar panels and other low-carbon technologies.

“It’s been heartening to receive communications from several residents expressing appreciation for the engineering team’s helpfulness, consideration and hard work.”

We are investing £1.4 billion in the South West's electricity network between 2023 and 2028 to improve reliability, support economic growth and enable the transition to low-carbon technologies.