Residents and businesses in a small Somerset town are to benefit from an investment by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) to boost the resilience of the area's power supply.

Nearly £800,000 will be spent over the next few months on improvements to the electricity infrastructure supplying Bruton and the surrounding areas, including the communities of Charlton Musgrove and Batcombe.

The upgrade project will run until the end of August and will provide further opportunities for SSEN to complete works such as tree cutting and substation maintenance.

SSEN's Project Lead, Paul Waterman explains more: "Bruton and the surrounding area has been identified for this sizeable investment to boost the resilience of the local power supply and ensure its reliability for years to come."

"Since May, we've been working on this project - that we aim to fully complete in the next two months - and have taken the opportunity to use any planned supply interruptions to work on our tree cutting and maintenance programme for the area."

"By working in this way, we minimise the disruption to the homes and businesses in the area and can help accommodate any additional assistance that customers may need during these planned outages through our Priority Services Register."

The project which spans Bruton and its surrounding villages will also see the replacement of over 200 wooden poles supporting the overhead cable network and related infrastructure to reduce the possibility of unplanned interruptions to the area's power supply.

SSEN's Priority Services Register provides free additional support for customers who may become vulnerable during a power cut.

Customers can qualify for SSEN's Priority Services Register if they:

  • Are dependent on electricity for home medical care
  • Have a chronic illness or short term medical condition
  • Are disabled
  • Have special communication needs
  • Have children under the age of five
  • Are over the age of 60

By registering for SSEN's PSR, customers will be proactively contacted to warn them of potential bad weather to help them prepare and to offer extra support where required. SSEN's teams will also keep in close and regular contact with its PSR customers during network outages to check they are getting the help they need.

To find out more about the PSR, click here, or call 0800 294 3259.