What's new in Watnall?

Over £5million is being spent on a major initiative to boost power supplies in Watnall, north Nottinghamshire.

This new initiative has involved the construction of a new primary substation in Watnall which will help to further safeguard supply reliability to around 10,000 customers in and around Watnall, Kimberley and Awsworth and will also better accommodate any increased demands placed on the power network in the future.

Additional work has been carried out at a major substation in Moorgreen, while five kilometres of underground cables have also been laid between the two substations.

“The investment 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 Paul Davies, Team Manager for the area.

Construction of the new substation and installation of the electrical equipment at the substation in Watnall has already been completed. Work to re-route some of the circuits from the original substation is ongoing and is expected to be completed next autumn.

Completion of an access driveway into the new site at Watnall is due to be completed early in 2016 with traffic management in place for several weeks on Main Road in Watnall. This will involve closing one lane of the carriageway to enable completion of the work by Morrison Utility Services, who have been contracted by us.

Further underground cables are due to be installed along Newdigate Street and James Street, Kimberley. The majority of this work will be undertaken during school holidays to limit the impact on traffic.

Paul added: “Our aim is to keep any disruption to an absolute minimum, and we have been liaising with local councils to agree on a cable route which creates the least disruption for traffic flow in the area.

“Our intention is to work on major junctions during off peak times and to keep customers informed by letter, including businesses situated along the route. We will also be speaking with local bus companies about our plans.”

The project forms part of our commitment to provide a consistently high level of service to customers. Around £7billion will be invested in our electricity network between 2015 and 2023.