UK Power Networks makes a £15 million towering investment

The steel towers deliver electricity from the national grid to the distributor’s many substations which provide power for local communities. The voltage is at 132,000-volts when it arrives with UK Power Networks and is then reduced to 33,000-volts before it leaves and supplies electricity to around six million homes and businesses.

UK Power Networks, the largest electricity distributor in the country, looks after 46,000km of overhead lines and has 120,000 substations keeping the electricity flowing to 8.5 million homes and businesses. The multi million-pound investment will also see nearly 10,000 metres of overhead power lines replaced between the towers, to maintain reliability and future proof the network.

Part of the work will include repainting nearly 200 towers across Suffolk, Norfolk, Kent and East Sussex with a special anti-corrosion paint to protect them in all weathers.

Work has already begun alongside contractors Keltbray to ensure the towers are delivering a safe and reliable electricity supply to homes and businesses. Engineers are specially trained to climb the 30-metre high towers safely and members of the public are reminded to stay well clear of towers and substations as they carry live electricity in the overhead cables.

Colin Barden, UK Power Networks head of quality and supply said: "This work is a major part of an annual programme to ensure that our overhead lines continue to meet the requirements of our customers, as the modern-day usage of electricity increases."

The work will future-proof local power supplies, as well as enabling more low carbon electricity generation to feed into the grid. As more people connect renewable energy, heat pumps and electric vehicles to local electricity networks, UK Power Networks plays a critical role in helping to enable the UK’s transition to a Net Zero economy.