A £1.5 million investment in Winchester’s electricity infrastructure is set to boost the resilience and strength of the power supply in the city.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) latest programme of works will see the completion of a series of upgrades carried out in Winchester to ensure a reliable and secure network for the city’s 11,000 customers for years to come.

The latest scheme follows a previous £1.3 million improvement to the local network, which was completed last year, and saw SSEN build a new substation to accommodate the requirements of the city.

The final part of the project will run for five months to enable the upgrade of 2.2 kilometres of underground cable; new sections of modern, robust cable will replace the existing cable which is reaching the end of its working life, allowing for future commercial and residential connections.

Lee Roden, SSEN’s project manager for the Winchester City Centre upgrade, said: “As we reach the final programme of works for Winchester, I’d like to thank our customers in advance for the patience and understanding they have shown SSEN and our project teams as we have worked to upgrade the power supplies to their beautiful city.

“This latest, substantial investment will ensure a power supply that will serve those who live and work here for many years to come.”

Lee added: “While we will do all we can to minimise any possible noise or disruption for those near to the works, I also want to reassure our customers that our engineers are adhering to the strict government guidelines on social distancing, so we can ensure the safety of our colleagues and our customers.

“In the current climate, we are unable to hold a public engagement event to enable residents and business owners to meet the SSEN project team and discuss the works, but we want our customers to know that we will be available to address any questions raised. With this in mind, we have carried out letter drops to all nearby homes and businesses containing details of the project and various ways of contacting the team.”

Work will start on July 14 in Silchester Place with the route ending in Stanmore Lane on October 19.