Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) began work on Monday 28 August 2023 on a £2.6 million upgrade to the electricity infrastructure serving the Dorset village of Charminster1. The project, announced by the network operator on 29 June 2023, runs until March 2024 and involves replacing 4.6 kilometres of existing underground cabling with modern, more efficient cables1.
SSEN says the new cabling will boost the resilience of power supplies for homes and businesses in the area, describing a more robust network in the face of severe weather events that have the potential to cause power cuts1. The village has over 3,350 residents, who SSEN says will also benefit as they seek to meet net zero goals and adopt more low carbon technologies such as electric vehicles, solar panels and heat pumps1.
The works bring temporary traffic management on Wanchard Lane, Mill Lane and Vicarage Lane for parts of the project1. Working hours are limited to Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with no works at weekends, and SSEN says there are no planned power interruptions scheduled during the works1. Aaron Reed, SSEN's project manager for the works, said:
"As a considerate constructor, SSEN has been working with stakeholders and local partners prior to this upgrade project starting to ensure the works are carried out with the least possible inconvenience to local residents and business owners."
SSEN states that it invests over £150 million a year in building resilience across its network as the distribution operator for central southern England. That figure includes around £20 million a year on tree cutting and maintenance, over £12 million for refurbishing overhead lines, and over £2 million to install Automated Devices on parts of the network to enable faster restoration of supplies after a fault1.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Investment | £2.6 million |
| Cabling replaced | 4.6 kilometres underground |
| Works start | Monday 28 August 2023 |
| Works end | March 2024 |
| Working hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM |
| Traffic management | Wanchard Lane, Mill Lane, Vicarage Lane |
| Planned power interruptions | None scheduled |
Why it matters for households
The work is a replacement of existing underground cable rather than new capacity, and SSEN frames the benefit in terms of resilience: fewer faults and faster recovery when severe weather hits1. For a household, that bears on how dependable the supply is for the appliances and systems that depend on it, including the low carbon technologies SSEN names, such as heat pumps and electric vehicle charging1. SSEN's wider spending figures show how much of its resilience budget goes to overhead line refurbishment, tree cutting and automated switching devices that shorten outages1.
Householders in the area who have concerns about vulnerability during power cuts are pointed to SSEN's free Priority Services Register, which is open to customers who are deaf or hard of hearing, have a disability, live with children under five, are blind or partially sighted, have a chronic illness, use medical equipment or aids reliant on electricity, are over 60, or temporarily need extra support1. SSEN gives the contact number as 0800 294 32591. No details of how the register affects restoration priority during an outage are given in the announcement1.
What happens next
Works continue until March 2024, with traffic management communicated to residents and business owners in advance of implementation1. SSEN says it will engage with the community throughout the project with regular updates and open communications1. No further phases, costs or completion dates beyond March 2024 have been reported1.