MP visits Guildford’s £7.3m power upgrade

Guildford MP Angela Richardson has seen behind the scenes of a £7.3m upgrade to a key electricity substation in Guildford.

UK Power Networks, which delivers electricity supplies to 8.4 million homes and businesses across the South East, London and East of England, is currently investing in resilience and capacity at the key power hub in Guildford to future proof the network.

Over the last year, engineers have built and equipped a new switchroom and replaced two electricity transformers, which step down voltage, enabling electricity to be safely delivered to smaller electricity substations and properties. The project is in its final stages of delivery, with the second transformer due to be energised in the coming weeks.

Ms Richardson says: “It was fantastic to visit one of the main UK Power Networks’ electrical substations in my constituency which deliver power to 19,000 local homes. I welcome the £7.3 million of recent investment in the local electricity network to serve our local community while facilitating the net zero transition.”

Barry Hatton, Director of Asset Management at UK Power Networks, says: “Our teams have worked hard to deliver this significant investment in new power infrastructure to provide safe and reliable electricity supplies to thousands of residents across Guildford for years to come.

“This was a complex project completed safely and this key investment in Guildford increases the resilience, flexibility and automation of our network while delivering up to 15 megawatts of additional capacity to meet growth in demand.

“Projects like this one in Guildford are central to our work to maintain reliable electricity supplies for the communities we serve while preparing for a future where more low carbon technologies, such as electric vehicles and electric heating, will connect to our networks.”

UK Power Networks is investing £600 million in its electricity networks across the South East, London and East of England this year.