Power network operator, Stockport based Electricity North West, has submitted its plans to improve its response to storms to the energy sector regulator, Ofgem.
Electricity North West is seeking £35 million to fund seven programmes which will enhance network reliability when adverse weather hits in some of the most remote areas across the region it covers.
The proposals follow major disruption in rural parts of the region, particularly Cumbria, caused by Storm Arwen in November 2021. The storm saw over 1 million people nationwide affected by power cuts, including 100,000 in the North West who suffered outages owing to snow drifts and windspeeds of over 65 mph.
In the immediate aftermath of Storm Arwen, Electricity North West made enhancements to its network management system and installed 750 low voltage monitoring devices in areas impacted by the weather. It also provided a £500,000 community fund which supported resilience in rural communities.
The organisation is now seeking funding to install more automation on the low voltage power network, improving visibility of issues and restoration times, as well as improve interconnectivity with neighbouring grids in Scotland, Yorkshire and the North-east. Targeted sections of the overhead network would be moved underground whilst more interconnectors linking key parts of its network would be installed to improve resilience.
Paul Killilea, Electricity North West’s asset and investment director, said:
“Storm Arwen had a major disruptive impact on many of our customers through long duration outages and restoration challenges due to the continuing weather conditions.
“We participated in industry reviews as well as carrying out our own review to improve how we can respond, speaking with hundreds of customers who were affected and that has undoubtedly improved our response in recent storms.
“We’ve implemented a lot of lessons learned and while our network is built to and in many cases surpasses industry standards, we recognise there are various ways we can improve it even further in those areas that suffer most when the bad weather hits. As well as carrying out an ongoing, yearly, resilience programme in response to the climate change and variable weather, this reopener allows us to submit enhanced proposals which would improve resilience in these most rural areas.”
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