NORTHERN POWERGRID INVESTS £3M TO IMPROVE NETWORK SERVING FERRYBRIDGE AND KNOTTINGLEY

Northern Powergrid, the company responsible for the electricity network that powers everyday life for 8 million people across 3.9 million homes and businesses in the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, is starting a £3 million investment programme to improve the reliability and resilience of the electricity network serving Ferrybridge and Knottingley.

Starting in late 2022, the investment work focuses on installing new underground cables along a 3.4km route between two existing substations. The new circuits will reinforce the existing network and help ensure that future demands on the network can be met as the area develops, the population grows and people become more reliant on electricity to power their businesses, heat their homes and charge electric vehicles.

The work will involve digging in the roadway to lay the new underground cables along a route which includes Kirkhaw Lane, the B6136 Stranglands Lane/Fishergate/Ferrybridge Road, the A645 Hill Top and Weeland Road. Rolling multi-way traffic lights will be in use while the work takes place.

A short section of the work will be completed ahead of the main programme. Northern Powergrid’s contractor Excalon will start working on a 300m stretch of the B6136 Ferrybridge Road and A645 Hill Top on Monday 26 September 2022 for a period of up to two weeks. The team will then return to complete the remainder of the scheme from later in 2022 to early 2023, with exact dates to be announced shortly.

Northern Powergrid is working closely with Wakefield District Council to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum. Throughout the work, there are no plans to turn off anyone’s power, pedestrian access will be maintained at all times and Northern Powergrid will work with homes and businesses to make sure that they can continue to receive deliveries.

The company is also committed to keeping local people informed and will be writing to everyone directly affected to let them know when and where work is taking place as well as providing regular updates through local councillors, parish councillors, local media and social media.          

Sharon Incerti, Northern Powergrid’s Project Manager for this scheme of work said: “Once complete, our £3 million investment work in Ferrybridge and Knottingley will significantly increase the resilience of the local power network by ensuring the additional capacity needed to meet the predicted growth in demand is in place ahead of need.

“While this is an important investment in the area, we’re always very aware of the potential impact of our work on people’s everyday lives, which is why we’re doing all we can to support and communicate with local people while we carry out this important investment in the area’s electricity network.

“We’ve issued letters to all directly affected customers to explain what we’ll be doing and when. Our letters will also provide details of how to sign up to our free Priority Services Membership which offers extra advice and support to customers who may be more vulnerable.”          

People can also find out more about this investment work by contacting the company’s customer care team by emailing generalenquiries@northernpowergrid.com or calling 0800 011 3332. The network operator is also available 24/7 on Facebook and Twitter.

For information about joining the electricity distributor’s free Priority Services Membership visit northernpowergrid.com/care or call 0800 169 2996.        

To translate information into another language, customers can click the Accessibility icon at the top of all Northern Powergrid’s webpages or call its language line on 0800 389 8204.

People who find it difficult to speak or hear can use text phone 0800 028 9507 or text relay: dial 18001 followed by 0800 169 2996.                                                                             

Those who are visually impaired can click the Accessibility icon at the top of Northern Powergrid’s web pages to change font sizes and colours or click the Recite Me icon to have information read out to them. People can also sign up to receive communications in larger print or Braille by calling the Powergrid Care Team on 0800 169 2996.              

For information about joining the electricity distributor’s free Priority Services Membership visit northernpowergrid.com/care or call 0800 169 2996.