Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) announced on 24 May 2022 that it had finished a programme of works to upgrade and enhance power supplies across two Dorset towns, completed on time and to budget1. The distribution network operator said the work covered a 32 kilometre circuit on the electricity infrastructure serving Poole and Shaftesbury, and the areas between them served under the same network, boosting the strength of power supplies to around 160,000 local homes and businesses1.
The £4.6 million investment involved some 38,000 hours of work and was carried out in phases over the past 14 months, according to SSEN1. The company listed the main elements of the refurbishment:
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| New conductor cables installed | 160 kilometres |
| New insulator sets installed | 621, across 173 overhead network towers |
| Sections of overhead lines undergrounded | 19 |
SSEN said the completed project also future-proofs the network to accommodate the needs of people living and working in the area as they move to low carbon technologies such as heat pumps and electric vehicles1. It cited an estimated uptake of 13,488 electric vehicles across Poole by 2030, alongside the addition of over 5,100 heat pumps and nearly 3,000 solar panels1.
Daniel Rees, SSEN's Project Manager for the upgrade, thanked customers in the area for their patience and understanding while the network was upgraded1.
"This is one of several recent and ongoing projects that SSEN is carrying out to ensure that the wider area of Dorset has a resilient and flexible network suitable for customers' needs now and for many years to come."
SSEN describes itself as the electricity Distribution Network Operator responsible for delivering power to over 3.8 million homes and businesses across central southern England and the north of Scotland1. Its role as the local network operator, including how it handles supply interruptions and priority services, is set out in the site's guide to SSEN distribution networks, part of the wider national supply section.
Why it matters for households
The circuit in question is the part of the network that carries electricity the last stretch to individual properties in and around Poole and Shaftesbury. Work on conductors, insulators and overhead lines is about the physical condition and capacity of that local network rather than about where the power is generated or how it is bought. For a household, a stronger local network is mainly relevant when demand on it rises: adding a heat pump, solar panels or an electric vehicle charger increases the load a property draws through the same connection. SSEN's figures for expected heat pump, solar and electric vehicle uptake in the area indicate the scale of demand it says it is preparing the network for1. The announcement does not state any change to connection charges, standing charges or supply arrangements for households, and no change to those has been reported.
What happens next
SSEN said the Dorset upgrade is one of several recent and ongoing projects in the wider area, and that it continues work to strengthen local networks against severe weather and build in flexibility for new technologies1. No further dates or specific future schemes in Dorset were given in the announcement.