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Electricity North West has pledged £33m to specific projects across Lancashire.
The money is part of a larger investment across the North West’s power network, worth more than £2bn. As part of the commitment, the company is increasing capacity at 11 substations across Blackpool, Preston, Lytham St Annes, Rossendale, Bacup, Tarleton, Nelson, Burscough Bridge and Clitheroe.
The investment by Electricity North West is the first of a series of projects focused on creating more capacity on the region’s power network, ensuring it is ready for the shift towards greener technologies like electric cars and heat pumps. Plans have also been revealed to replace kilometres worth of cable and refurbish almost a dozen steel towers across the county.
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The projects across Lancashire are part of the wider £2bn invested by Electricity North West aimed at upgrading the region’s electricity network. As well as investing in the network, significant sums will go towards investing in customer service and supporting those in vulnerable circumstances who need it the most.
From today (April 4) the network operator will begin investing to increase the capacity of the network, made up of 57,000 km of underground cables and overhead lines, and many thousands of electricity substations. The plan, which has been approved by industry regulator Ofgem, will see Electricity North West invest in world-leading innovation and technology and enable it to continue to be the most digital network operator in Europe.
Ian Smyth, chief executive officer at Electricity North West, said: “This is a really exciting time for us and for the region. It’s the people who live, learn and work in the North West who are our top priority. As well as this huge network investment we’re also committed to delivering some of the top rated customer service scores in the country.
“We’ll also deliver all this investment while keeping our part of bills low, which we know is absolutely essential given the current cost of living crisis. When you pay your electricity bill to your chosen supplier, around £100 a year – that’s less than 30p a day – comes to Electricity North West to enable this investment. We spoke to more than 18,000 customers and stakeholders to develop this plan and we know that it will deliver fantastic value for the region.
“We’ll continue to develop and deliver our cutting-edge engineering innovations, CLASS, SmartStreet and LineSight that will keep the network reliable, efficient and safe.
“As the network operator, it’s our job to make sure everyone living and working in the North West can continue to depend on the network, just as they do now. After more than three years of planning and preparing, we’re excited to get the shovels in the ground and put the plans into action.
Electricity North West’s full business plan can be found at www.enwl.co.uk/businessplan.
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