Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) announced on 25 November 2023 that it had completed a £3.9 million upgrade to the electricity infrastructure at Netley Common, in the Southampton area. The work began in December 20211.
The programme was carried out in stages and included the design and complete rebuild of the two main transformers serving the area, along with replacement of associated network equipment with more modern and efficient equivalents1. SSEN said the completed project had strengthened the network against adverse weather events and reduced the potential risk of power cuts, and that it had ensured the development of a local power supply that can accommodate the changing needs of customers across Southampton1.
Ben Wollaston, SSEN's Project Manager for the works, said:
"My team and I are delighted to have completed these works that deliver a more robust and resilient electricity infrastructure for those living and working in Netley Common and the wider Southampton area."
SSEN said customers were able to discuss elements of the upgrade with its team during the works, and that as a result of those discussions tree planting was carried out around a section of the network where local residents felt the new section stood out in its environment1.
The Netley Common works form one phase of a series of planned upgrades by SSEN in the Southampton area. A further project is scheduled for early 2025, which SSEN said would further improve the network through a proposed £3 million investment1. No detail of the scope of that project, or of any consultation on it, has been reported.
Why it matters for households
The two rebuilt transformers are the equipment that steps electricity down for local distribution, so their condition and capacity set a ceiling on what homes on this part of the network can draw. SSEN's stated aim of accommodating "the changing needs of customers across Southampton" as they move to more low carbon technologies points to the load that electric vehicles and heat pumps add to a local supply1. For a household, the practical effect of reinforcement work of this kind is headroom: capacity available for a home that adds a high-draw appliance, and a network less likely to fail in the weather conditions SSEN describes as adverse. The reduced risk of power cuts is a resilience claim about this section of network, not a guarantee for any individual property, and SSEN has not published figures for how much the risk has fallen. The proposed £3 million project for early 2025 indicates that further work in the area is planned, but its scope has not been reported. Households wanting to understand how their own supply is arranged, and what happens during an outage, can read our guide to SSEN's distribution role and priority services, within the wider national supply picture.
What happens next
SSEN has said a further project is scheduled for early 2025, with a proposed £3 million investment in the Southampton area network1. No start date within 2025, no location and no description of the works have been reported.