Network investment
Electricity North West is embarking on the largest ever investment in the North West’s power network, investing over £2.5bn between 2023 and 2028.
Delivering investment in our region through capital projects
We expect the demand for power to increase by a third by 2030, thanks in part to an estimated 1.4 million electric vehicles taking to the roads while more than a million heat pumps are expected to be installed by 2040.
We are investing billions in the operation, maintenance and upgrading of the region’s electricity network as people move away from fossil fuels to clean, green electricity to power their cars and heating. This includes new investment in the operation, maintenance and upgrading of the region’s electricity network to support our customers in their transition to adopt low carbon technologies such as electric vehicles, heat pumps and solar panels. It also means investing in the resilience of the network to reduce customers’ time without power by 20% by developing and delivering our cutting-edge engineering innovations, CLASS, SmartStreet and LineSight to keep the network reliable, efficient and safe.
Our goal is to minimise disruptions to your daily life by carefully planning our work. We will always notify you in advance before any planned works commence.
Capital delivery programme
We've created a single Capital Delivery function, including a governing Programme Management Organisation (PMO)
Over £2.6bn
We're investing over £2.6bn in the region's network between now and 2028. That’s more than £1m a day - the largest ever investment in the network!
Investment across our region
We're investing over £40m in Cumbria, replacing 154km of overhead lines, over £33m increasing capacity at 11 substations across Lancashire, and over £32m reinforcing the network across Greater Manchester.
Future-proofing
We're future-proofing the network and increasing capacity for the electrification of heat networks, public transport and electric vehicle charging to reduce carbon emissions, combining new technology and creative thinking to deliver innovative solutions.
Investment in Greater Manchester
A £32m plus programme for Greater Manchester, the investment will include seven sites covering Salford, Cheetham Hill, West Didsbury, and the city centre to build more capacity in the next five years. GMCA accounts for 57% of our total strategic investment programme in ED2. This will create new capacity equivalent to 150,000 homes and businesses. The work will require extensive underground cable work to connect customers to the new capacity, completing by 2028. The work will reinforce the network at various points including new cabling and substations, enabling more renewable energy generation and the take up of electric vehicles and heating.
Oldham investment
A record investment is to be made in Oldham with £13m being spent upgrading the power network
Investment in Cumbria
We're embarking on our largest ever investment in Cumbria, the £40m plus Cumbria ring project which will see us replace 154km of 132kV overhead line. This upgrade will allow access to the capacity created at Harker substation and create 230MW of additional capacity for the uptake of low carbon technologies. The work will reinforce the network at various points across the region and upgrade the substation at Harker. This will increase capacity on the network, enabling more renewable energy generation and increase take up of electric vehicles and heating.
Barrow investment
A major £4.5m project in Barrow to replace five aging HV cable circuits to ensure long-term resilience and improve customer experience.
Investment in Lancashire
We're investing over £33m in key projects across Lancashire. As part of the commitment, we are replacing equipment and increasing capacity at 11 substations across Blackpool, Preston, Lower Darwen, Rossendale, Lancaster, Tarleton, Nelson, Burscough Bridge and Clitheroe. We are also planning to replace many kilometres of cable and refurbish almost a dozen steel towers across the county. Our capacity investment also focuses on creating more capacity on the region’s electricity network, ensuring it is ready for the shift towards greener technologies like electric cars and heat pumps.
Nelson Investment
£4m worth of upgrades will see 6km of underground electricity cables will be replaced as will assets within a substation in Nelson.
Innovation embedded in our investment programme
We're leading the way in energy innovation. We are developing ground-breaking, flexible solutions driven by the changing needs of our customers in a low carbon future. This innovation goes hand in hand with our capital investment programme.
LineSIGHT
LineSight will support in identifying developing issues before they happen, or help fix power cuts quicker if they occur.
CLASS
The award-winning CLASS project is cutting edge voltage control that can reduce demand for electricity, without customers noticing a difference to their supply.
Smart street
Our Smart Street: innovative voltage control techniques to enable our networks and customers’ appliances to perform more efficiently and make it easier to adopt low carbon technologies onto the electricity network.
Net zero terrace
The net zero terrace project will demonstrate how to decarbonise an entire terraced street using a Smart Local Energy System that is integrated with the network, optimised and affordable to consumers.