London’s financial district gets power upgrade

UK Power Networks is in the process of providing a £5M upgrade project that will double to power capacity of an electricity substation to the Bishopsgate and Moorgate area of London as a means of boosting energy to the financial district surrounding skyscrapers like The Gherkin, The Cheese Grater, and The Walkie Talkie.

In order to achieve this project, UK Power Networks is installing a trio of transformers, each of which weigh more than 100 tonnes, to step down the voltage in order to distribute energy to further substations and customers, adding a capacity that would be able to power 27,000 additional homes.

The first transformer was installed in early 2019 while the second transformer was recently delivered to the site but awaits activation which is scheduled for September and, finally, the third transformer is scheduled to be purchased online in the spring of 2020.

The Project Manager at UK Power Networks, Jonathon Peirce stated: “We are investing in new equipment to continue providing safe and reliable power supplies for existing and future customers, supporting further construction work in this exciting and dynamic part of London.

“The next generation of landmarks on the horizon will be powered by the investment we are making now to meet the area’s growing demand for power. It is a significant investment that will deliver wide benefits for the area for years to come.”

UK Power Networks has pledged to invest £1.5Bn in London’s electricity network over the eight years leading to 2023 in order to support growth, development, and maintain safe, reliable electricity supplies across homes and businesses as a way of supporting London’s economic development.

In fact, UK Power Networks commissioned over 500 megawatts of capacity extensions throughout London during 2018, showing evidence of their commitment to their £1.5Bn pledge.

UK Power Networks owns and maintains power supply infrastructure to 18M people across the South East, East of England, and London with a significant proportion of this comprising of the 2.3M homes, businesses, and hospitals it supplies in London alone.

Over 10M people are predicted to reside in London by 2030, meaning that the energy supply network needs to be progressively updated to handle this extortionate demand and, with London possessing the most reliable energy network in the UK, preparations seem to be well on track.

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