The West Berkshire village of Leckhampstead is set to benefit from a £210,000 investment by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) to upgrade the local electricity infrastructure and boost the resilience of the area's power supply ahead of the winter and for years to come.
SSEN is building a stronger network for the hundreds of local residents in Leckhampstead through the upgrade and maintenance project that will run over the next four weeks, to strengthen the existing infrastructure and help future-proof the supply to the area's customers.
The works in Leckhampstead, which are scheduled to complete in the middle of November, involve the replacement of some of the village's overhead lines and poles, with new transformers and conductors that will help the network stand up to adverse weather and address the needs of the local residents and businesses as the UK moves towards its net-zero ambitions. In addition to this, a comprehensive programme of works to clear vegetation and tree branches from the vicinity of Leckhampstead's network is also been carried out during the month-long schedule to further protect the infrastructure from potential damage in high winds.
SSEN's Project Manager, Anthony Hamilton explains more: "As well as building a safe and reliable electricity network for Leckhampstead to enhance the resilience of supply over the winter months, SSEN is looking to the future for this village and what the needs of its residents will be over the coming years."
"These works are part of SSEN's ongoing network investment programme that will ultimately help West Berkshire achieve its net-zero ambitions as more of our customers move to using electric vehicles, and is part of our commitment to taking a "you said, we did" approach to investing in our vital infrastructure."
"As SSEN carefully takes into consideration the local surroundings and environment when undertaking any works, we are working closely with local farmers to ensure these works do not affect any crops or further harvesting times in and around the village."
The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) expect electricity demand to double by 2050 as more and more customers shift to electric vehicles (EV) and heating. SSEN is working to understand the ambitions of the communities it serves, and to enable this transition. SSEN has published Accelerating a Green Recovery setting out ten measures for the Government to ensure no communities are left behind in the transition to net zero carbon emissions.