A massive £1.5million project to upgrade and refurbish the electricity network in rural Dumfries and Galloway has been successfully completed by SP Energy Networks.

The seven-month project, part of a £2million investment plan for the area, saw the rebuilding and refurbishment of more than 18km of overhead lines and almost 500 poles in and around the village of Carsphairn.

The investment will improve connections, network security and reduce chances of power cuts throughout the local community for decades to come.

SP Energy Networks engineers faced challenging conditions, having to carry out the improvement while keeping power flowing and the Carsphairn community connected.

Engineers were able to keep disruption to an absolute minimum, with SP Energy Networks working hard to keep Carsphairn residents up-to-date with progress and the impact the project would have.  SP Energy Networks, understanding the specific requirements of the community during any necessary outage, gave additional support to vulnerable customers in the event of a power outage.

Following completion of the work SP Energy Networks has now donated £1,000 to the Carsphairn Community Trust. The Trust has ambitious plans for the future, which includes looking at renewable energy schemes.

Steve Cowley, convenor of the Carsphairn Community Trust, said: “The community in Carsphairn were pleased with the way SP Energy Networks made great efforts to ensure residents were fully informed of the impending works and how this would affect the community. The work was carried out professionally and to the times we were advised.”

Iain Steele, Dumfries District General Manager at SP Energy Networks, said: “We’re committed to maintaining and improving the high standard of service to Dumfries and Galloway, futureproofing the local electricity network for years to come.  The Carsphairn project was particularly challenging due to the power being required to be kept on while our engineers carried out the refurbishment. We’d like to thank the community for their patience over the past seven months.”

SP Energy Networks owns and manages overhead and underground powerlines in Southern and Central Scotland as well as Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales and North Shropshire. For more information about SP Energy Networks and its services, visit: spenergynetworks.co.uk

For further information, please contact Alex Crate or Rebecca McNaughton by calling 0131 561 8628 or emailing spnetworks@stripecommunications.com

Notes to Editors

SP Energy Networks:

• SP Energy Networks (SPEN) is the licensed Electricity Distributor (DNO) for Central & Southern Scotland and for Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales and North Shropshire. It has 30,000 substations (one substation for every 100 customers), 40,000km overhead lines (once around the globe), and 70,000km underground cables.
• SPEN also operates the Transmission Network in Central and Southern Scotland. It takes electricity generated from power stations, windfarms and various other utilities and transport it through its vast transmission network, consisting of over 4,000km of overhead and 320km of underground lines. It has 129 transmission substations in its network that helps to manage extra high voltage electricity supplies.
• From 2015 to 2023 SP Energy Networks plans to invest approximately £5 billion into the electricity network.