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East Huntspill to Mendips
Current construction activity
Date from | Date to | Activity |
October 2021 | 2024 | |
May 2020 | 2025 | T-pylons and reinstatement between Bridgwater substation and Loxton |
May 2020 | Ongoing | |
2018 | Ongoing |
Overview – Summer 2023
The world’s first T-pylons between Bridgwater and Loxton are now energised and transporting electricity.
To make way for the new 400,000 volt pylons, National Grid is removing 249 existing 132,000 volt lattice pylons, and overhead wires stretching 67 kilometres from the Somerset landscape. 99 percent of the lattice pylons have now been removed, with the very last of the 249 pylons expected to be taken down by autumn 2023.
Reinstatement of the land is underway across the connection route and will continue through to 2025.
Thank you from everyone working on the project for your patience and understanding as we progress with this vital work to connect six million homes and businesses to new sources of homegrown, low carbon energy, and help the UK meet its net zero ambitions.
East Huntspill to Mendips timeline
Early 2019 to mid 2024
Build and access temporary haul road and construction compounds
What we're doing:
Building two temporary construction compounds and a temporary entrance and access road off the A38, north of Tarnock, to allow construction traffic to enter the site from the local highway. Work will start on the access and compounds in 2019.
One of the compounds will includes site offices and internal and external storage facilities to support the work to build a 400,000 volt underground cable across the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
The other temporary site compound will be used for the construction of the 400,000 volt overhead line and removal of the existing 132,000 volt overhead line in the area.
Completed late 2022
Built new 400,000 volt overhead line
This work has been completed
Work carried out:
Built a new overhead line from the existing Hinkley to Melksham overhead line, which is north of Woolavington, northwards to a new cable sealing end (CSE) compound just south of the Mendip Hills. See Mendip Hills for further information about the CSE compound.
We will use T-pylons in this area, with the exception of where the overhead line connects to the existing overhead line.
Completed mid 2022
Removal of existing 132,000 volt overhead line
This work has been completed.
Work carried out:
Removed existing overhead line from Bridgwater substation to the A368 in Sandford. This made way for, and minimised the visual impact of the new overhead line.