THE electricity network around Aldershot, which covers East Hampshire, has been strengthened in preparation for winter as part of a £145m company-wide investment programme.

The programme to upgrade and maintain the network infrastructure is designed to improve the resilience of the network in central southern England. The investment ahead of this winter has gone into a range of programmes designed to reduce the number of power cuts during the winter months.

Engineers based at the Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution depot in Farnham have spent several months ramping up maintenance and refurbishment on key parts of the electricity network to ensure the power equipment is ready should severe weather hit the South.

One of the examples of how engineers have strengthened the network is around Alton where Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution has spent £156,000 on a large programme of tree cutting to reduce the risk of branches coming into contact with overhead lines and causing a power cut, together with the installation of new technology on the local circuit to help reduce the length of time customers are without electricity during a power cut.

According to a Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution spokesman, the company has installed “smart fuses”, which will mean that if a transient as opposed to a permanent fault occurs – for example, if airborne debris flies into an overhead line and then clears again straight away – the equipment on the network will identify this as a temporary fault and power up the line again within minutes, if the cause of the fault has cleared.

It will also send a notification to the Scottish and Southern Energy control room and an engineer can be dispatched to make sure there isn’t a problem with the network.

Investment across the network has also been made in substations, stronger overhead wires, more robust underground cables, and hi-tech automated equipment to switch electricity supplies from another source if power is cut.

One of the largest investments across the network has been in smart fuse technology.

In rural areas, trees and overhanging vegetation presents particular challenges, especially during the stormy winter months, and Scottish and Southern Energy has invested nearly £20m in cutting trees and branches that could come into contact with overhead lines and cause a power cut.

Stuart Hogarth, director of distribution, said: “This new investment work in the area will mean our network is even more robust. If there is a power cut, supplies in these areas will be restored more quickly as a result of this investment.”

If customers do find themselves without electricity, the emergency contact number to call is 0800 727282.

There is also an online service available with updated information on the electricity network along with advice for customers. It can be found at ssepd.co.uk.