22 May 2007 00:00 Central Networks to complete Cheltenham work 10 days ahead of schedule and begins emergency work to repair fault
Central Networks, the electricity distribution company for central England, will complete important underground cable refurbishment work along the Gloucester Road (A40) tomorrow (MAY 23), 10 days ahead of schedule.
Work started 29th April as part of a £2.25 million project to ensure the reliability of the electricity supply to the town centre of Cheltenham. The work was originally scheduled to finish on June 3rd.
Mike Lamming, Project Manager with Central Networks, said: “This work was vital and is part of a number of improvements we’re making to the network to help keep the lights on in the city.
“The team has done a fantastic job and worked flat out to ensure the project was completed ahead of schedule. We want to thank local commuters for bearing with us under difficult circumstances and hope that residents will now enjoy the project’s benefits.”
While carrying out work last week, engineers identified a fault to the underground network that requires immediate repair.
Work will therefore begin tomorrow morning (MAY 23) on the Gloucester Road (A40) opposite the entrance to Kingsley Gardens and is expected to last five days.
“While working on the cable we identified an unrelated fault just a bit further up the road and we’ve decided to fix it straight away before it has a chance to affect supplies to local customers,” said Mike.
“We’ve spoken to the Council and they agree that it makes sense to carry out the work now while we have the equipment and the teams in place.
“We’ll have traffic lights in place and have contacted local homes and businesses to explain the situation.
“We appreciate that this essential repair work will mean further inconvenience for some local residents and road users, but we’re doing our very best to minimise the disruption and will be working extended hours to get the job done.”
The work in Cheltenham forms part of a £1.2bn investment being made into overhead lines, underground cables and substations by Central Networks, which is part of E.ON UK, across the Midlands over a five-year period.
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 Central England 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:
Jamee Majid on 024 7618 3679
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