£10m boost to Islay’s electricity network

SSEN Distribution’s £10 million project to upgrade the electricity network on Islay starts this month.

The energy supplier says it will make the island’s infrastructure ‘more resilient and less susceptible to power cuts’, as it installs ‘new technology to help restore supplies more quickly should the need arise’.

The project will see SSEN teams and specialist contractors build nearly 30km of overhead line, lay 6km of underground cable and install a raft of new technology at the island’s substations.

A SSEN spokesperson said: ‘While the upgrade work will go a long way to reducing the potential for power cuts, there may still be occasions when a fault develops or storms may damage infrastructure causing supplies to be affected and so SSEN is installing new technology at its substations at Bowmore, Port Askaig and Knocklearoch which will offer engineers more options to reroute supplies when working to get the power back on.

‘SSEN’s main contractor for the overhead line work, Keltbray, is currently setting up site on the island at Ballygrant Quarry and taking deliveries of materials ahead of construction beginning in earnest mid-April. Work on the substations is due to begin in May, with the whole project due to last 12 months.’

Barry MacTaggart, SSEN’s project manager, added: ‘The work we’re going to be carrying out over the next 12 months is all about improving the reliability of power supplies for the homes and businesses on Islay.

‘Working on key areas of our outdoor infrastructure will ensure the equipment is as strong as possible to withstand the challenges of a typical Islay winter, and the new equipment we’re putting into our substations will provide our engineers with more options when they need to restore supplies on the rare occasions the power goes off.’

SSEN’s head of large capital projects Donald MacKinnon said: ‘This work will ensure the reliability of power supplies across the island for years to come.’