Why 130 Saltash homes should see fewer power cuts

The cables running under the footpaths of St Stephens had been quietly ageing for years. Now they have been dug up, replaced and reburied, and around 130 homes in Saltash should notice the difference the next time a storm rolls in off the Tamar.

What the work involved

National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) has finished a £250,000 upgrade to the underground power cables serving Summerfields and Castle View in St Stephens. Engineers excavated 432 tonnes of material and laid new cabling across 638 metres of footpath and short sections of road. That is roughly the length of five football pitches.

The company had identified 15 locations where older cables were at risk of developing faults. NGED estimates the investment will prevent more than 3,000 hours of future power interruptions for customers in the area.

Three months of disruption

The project took three months, and NGED is the first to acknowledge it was not a quiet one for residents.

Richard Cornelius, who led the engineering team, 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.”

Ready for more electric cars and solar panels

The new cabling does more than shore up what was already there. Richard said the team had 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,” he added.

The Saltash job is a small part of a much larger spend. NGED is investing £1.4 billion in the South West’s electricity network between 2023 and 2028, with the aim of improving reliability, supporting economic growth and enabling the switch to low-carbon technologies.