Northern Powergrid, the company responsible for the electricity network that powers everyday life for 8 million customers across 3.9 million homes and businesses in the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, is about to start work to build two new substations as part of its £3.3 million investment to improve the reliability and resilience of the electricity network serving Skelton, Saltburn and Marske.

In 2018, the electricity distributor successfully completed a £1.7 million programme of work to upgrade the network that supplies Skelton.

The company started a second phase of this programme in mid October 2019. Scheduled to run until spring/summer 2020, this sees the electricity distributor investing a further £1.6 million to improve the reliability of the electricity supply in Saltburn and Marske by replacing its existing assets with more modern equipment, including smart technology. This includes upgrading 7.1km of underground cabling, dismantling 800m of overhead power lines and replacing four time-served pole mounted substations with two more modern ground mounted substations. The company is also installing 14 remote control switches, which will provide greater flexibility to move electricity around the network and restore power more quickly if there is a power cut in the future.

Between October 2019 and mid March 2020, Northern Powergrid completed work in Marske along Cat Flat Lane bridleway, Quarry Road, Longbeck Road, Vicarage Drive, Hummershill Lane, Southfield Road, Meadow Road, the A1085, along the A174 between Longbeck Road and the A1085 roundabout and from here to the Larkfield Estate.

The two new ground mounted substations will be built between the end of April and early June and, once operational, these will provide critical reinforcement of the existing network serving Saltburn and Marske.   

Work on the first new substation, located at the edge of the field on the corner of the A174 and the A1085 in Marske, is taking place between Monday 27 April and the beginning of June 2020. This will not impact traffic or footpaths.

Work on the second new substation, located opposite Longbeck Nurseries on Longbeck Road, Marske will take place between Monday 11 May and early June 2020. As part of this work, Northern Powergrid will be closing Longbeck Road heading into Marske from just after Longbeck Nurseries up to the train line. A signposted diversion will be in place.

Northern Powergrid is writing to customers to explain what work is happening and when, as well as explaining that there are no plans to switch off anyone’s power and that it is unlikely that access to homes or businesses will be required.

Jon Eggleston, Northern Powergrid’s general manager for Teesside, said: “Delivering safe, reliable electricity is at the heart of what we do and we’re proud to play an essential role in keeping the lights on for our customers and maintaining our region’s critical infrastructure.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is causing a major impact on our communities at present. With a significant number of the population being advised by the Government to stay at home and many more people working from home, our customers are relying on electricity now more than ever. To support our customers, we’re prioritising critical and essential work necessary to the restoration and maintenance of a reliable electricity supply. Our substation replacement work in Marske falls into this this category and will therefore be continuing as planned.

“We’re following Public Health England advice to keep our employees, contractors and customers safe and our work will be carried out in line with the latest COVID-19 health and safety practices. If you see our teams and contractors working, we’re ask customer not to approach them unless it’s an emergency and if you do please make sure you always maintain social distancing.”

After the new substations are built, there is one final section of excavation work to be completed from Larkfield Estate to Ox Close in Saltburn, but this work is being postponed until after the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. 

The coronavirus pandemic is a rapidly developing situation and Northern Powergrid is continuing to actively monitor and review its approach to planned work in line with these developments and government guidelines.

Anyone with a general enquiry about the investment work can contact Northern Powergrid’s customer care team by calling 0800 011 3332 or by emailing generalenquiries@northernpowergrid.com.

The network operator can also be contacted 24/7 on social media (Facebook or Twitter @NorthPowergrid) or by calling 105 and its website continues to provide information and advice to support customers.

Any customers who may need additional advice or support due to their medical circumstances, or are currently ‘shielding’ in line with government and public health advice, may wish to consider joining the company’s free Priority Services Register by visiting northernpowergrid.com/cares  or calling 0800 169 2296.

To find out more about how Northern Powergrid and its people are powering the region during the pandemic visit northernpowergrid.com/coronavirus.

*Article updated 6 May to reflect change to start dates for work scheduled to start in May 2020