Further investments in Shropshire

Nearly £5million is being spent on a major initiative to boost power supplies in Ketley.

This new initiative involves the construction of a new electricity tower close to Ketley Bank round about and the laying of 750metres of new 132,000 volt underground cables to connect it to the electricity grid site at Ketley. Once connected, it will enable the removal of three existing electricity towers and 850 metres of overhead power lines that over sail the Wrekin retail park and the M54.

This work will help to further safeguard supply reliability to around 25,000 customers in the Ketley area and it will also 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 Mick Dunne, WPD’s Projects Manager for the area.

The construction of the new tower and work to install the underground cables which started last September is expected to be complete by the end of this year. The removal of the redundant tower and overhead lines will be carried out next year.

The project forms part of WPD’s commitment to provide a consistently high level of service to customers. Around £2 billion will be invested by the company on its electricity network between 2010 and 2015.