28 March 2006 00:00 Central Networks invests £80,000 into Coalville’s electricity network, some traffic disruption necessary

Electricity distribution company Central Networks is investing £80,000 into major improvements to the power network in Coalville to improve the reliability of power supply to 4,000 customers.

The work will benefit homes and businesses in Coalville, Swannington and Thringstone.

Around 1.2km of underground cable will be laid to reinforce the electricity distribution network to make the system more robust.

Steve Bradley, Project Manager with Central Networks, said: “This project will ensure that the existing service becomes even better, but it will, unfortunately, also mean some disruption for road users while we lay the new cable.

“We apologise for this inconvenience but I can assure local people that we’ll be doing everything we can to minimise disruption, including limiting the work to stretches of just 40m at a time in built up areas.”

Following consultation with the local Highways Authority, excavation work to lay the cables is due to begin on 9 April.

It is expected to take about six weeks and will start at Ashby Road near the Heritage Museum and at Stephenson’s Way close to the Hoo Ash roundabout. The teams working from these two start points will meet on the Ashby Road.

Customers with homes and businesses on the section of Ashby Road affected by this work are being contacted by Central Networks with further details of the intended work.

This project forms just part of a five-year £1.2bn investment being made by Central Networks, a company of E.ON UK, into the electricity distribution network across central England.

Ends

Notes to editors:
•Central Networks is the new name for Midlands Electricity and East Midlands Electricity. The company brings power to 4.9 million customers across the East and West Midlands through 133,000km of underground and overhead cables – enough to go round the Earth almost four times – and via almost 97,000 substations;
•Central Networks covers an area from the Peak District in the north to parts of Bristol in the south, and from the Welsh Borders to the Lincolnshire Coast.

For further information contact:
Rebecca Middleton on 024 7642 5779
A selection of Central Networks pictures is available free of charge to the media by registering at www.newscast.co.uk and looking under Distribution