£1.4m investment for Shropshire

A £1.4 million investment is being spent on a major initiative to improve power supplies in rural Shropshire.

Western Power Distribution (WPD), the electricity distributor for the Midlands region since April 2011, is committed to investing on its network to improve supply reliability and customer service levels.

This new initiative involves it laying 2km of 33,000 volt underground cable and 11km of overhead line between its substations in Bishops Castle and Priest Weston. This will help to further safeguard supply reliability to around 5,000 customers in those areas.

WPD’s investment is also designed to better accommodate any increased demands placed on the power network in the future for additional developments.

“It ensures that we can provide a high level of service to these areas in the long term by improving the infrastructure and security of our electricity network,” said Andy Barton, WPD’s Distribution Manager for the area.

The project is due to start on March 24, with completion expected by September. WPD has commissioned contractors Morgan Sindall for the cable laying works and Amey for the overhead lines construction.

Added Andy: “While this work is being undertaken, our aim is to keep any disruption to an absolute minimum. We have been working closely with Shropshire Council and the Highways Agency to agree on a cable route that creates the least disruption for traffic flow in the area.

“Our intention is also to work on major junctions during off-peak times and to keep customers who live along the route informed by regularly updating them about our work schedules and site progress. We have also been speaking with local bus companies about our plans.”