Winter storms and new electrical installations will be nothing to fear thanks to a network upgrade north of Farnham.

Around 60,000 customers across the Fleet and Aldershot area have a more reliable electricity supply following an £8.7 million network upgrade by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution.

The upgrade, which was completed weeks ahead of schedule, also gives customers greater capacity, making it easier to generate solar energy and install EV charging points and heat pumps.

All the pylons in the area have had their foundations upgraded to keep them secure in bad weather and critical fittings have been replaced.

Two sections of the existing lower voltage network that passed beneath the upgraded higher voltage lines have been put underground to eliminate the risk of lines coming into contact with each other during the improvement works on the larger network above.

Callum Benton, SSEN Distribution’s Fleet-Aldershot project manager, said: “Through this investment, we’ve future-proofed the network at a time when electricity demand is only going to increase, as more people turn to clean power for their heating and transport needs.

“The scale of this project, combined with our absolute commitment to safety, meant this was a logistically challenging scheme. We carried out some of the most complex work overnight to minimise the possibility of disruption to customers.”

Jo Niven, SSEN Distribution’s head of capital, maintenance and inspection investment, said: “The successful, early completion of the Fleet-Aldershot project is a huge achievement for Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, and our capital, maintenance and inspection investment team.

“I’d like to thank the design and delivery teams for their hard work and commitment. I’m also grateful to the communities along the route of this project for their understanding and patience while these network improvements were carried out.”