£10 million electricity upgrade underway

A major initiative to boost power supplies and support the development of new homes and businesses in east Kettering is underway.

The initiative, which started in October 2021, is being carried out by O’Connor Utilities Ltd on behalf of local electricity distributor, Western Power Distribution (WPD).  

So far, around 1.7km of the 6.5km cable route has been completed along with phase one of the civil construction at the substation site. 

Engineers are working hard to minimise disruption to traffic as far as possible and switched to working overnight on Northfield Avenue to complete cabling works.  Work on Northampton Road which is due to start in early February has been scheduled to be carried out at off peak times during the day and work on Windmill Avenue will be carried out during February half term.

Cabling work on St Mary’s Road is due to be carried out during the Easter break as far as possible and plans are being made to carry out a directional drill under London Road at the junction with St Mary’s Road to minimise disruption at the junction.

Once complete, this work will help to further safeguard supply reliability to more than 20,000 customers in the area while also supplying power to the new Hanwood Park development. It is expected to complete later this year. 

“This work ensures that we can provide a high level of service to these areas in the long term by improving the infrastructure and security of our electricity network, said James Bradley, WPD’s Team Manager for the area.

“We are continuing to work with West Northamptonshire Council, other utility companies and local businesses and residents to schedule our works to minimise the inconvenience in the area and keep customers and business along the route informed,” added James.

The project forms part of our commitment to provide a consistently high level of service to customers. Over £7billion is being invested by the company on its electricity network between 2015 and 2023.

Local residents are invited to contact O’Connor Utilities Site Manager Peter Dicesare if they have any queries on 07880 102237 or via the 24-hour emergency helpline on 0845 330 8615.