A £10.6 million upgrade to the electricity infrastructure has been completed, enhancing the power supply resilience for numerous homes and businesses in the Worthing and Steyning regions.
The project, executed by UK Power Networks, involved the installation and energisation of a new electricity cable between the two towns. This new cable replaces older equipment and is part of the crucial network that distributes power for heating, lighting, and running electric vehicles and heat pumps.
To reduce disruption, the installation team utilised an existing underground electricity pipeline to lay the new cabling, thereby avoiding extensive roadworks along most of the 9.5km route. Only periodic excavations were necessary to facilitate the cable pulling and connections across various points including Steyning, the South Downs, Sompting, and Worthing.
Bobby Suseela, Capital Programme Manager at UK Power Networks, stated, “This investment has increased network resilience for homes and businesses across the Steyning and Worthing areas using an existing cable pipeline to reduce the local impact. The project will deliver long-term benefits for local residents, helping us maintain safe and reliable electricity supplies to these areas into the future.”
The newly installed cables, which operate at 132,000 volts, are crucial in maintaining the delivery of electricity to approximately 95,000 local homes and businesses.
This £10.6 million project is just the latest in a long line of projects completed by UK Power Networks in recent times. The distribution network operator has committed to investing around £800 million this year in upgrading its electricity network across the South East, London and the East of England.
