Overview – Summer 2022
In April 2022, our contractor, Balfour Beatty, finished building 48 of the new T-pylons along a section of the Hinkley connection route between Bridgwater and Loxton. This new milestone is a great engineering achievement ahead of energising the pylons in October 2022.
By using the innovative T-pylon design, the height of the new infrastructure is being reduced by a third compared to an equivalent lattice pylon (35m compared to 48m). The base of the T-pylons also requires less land meaning that their footprint on the ground is significantly reduced.
Reinstatement along the southern section of the connection route started in spring 2022 and will continue through to late 2024.
To reduce the visual impact of the new pylons, National Grid is removing a total of 249 existing pylons and 67 kilometres of existing overhead lines along the full route by 2025. The work to remove 37 kilometres of pylons between Bridgwater and Sandford is underway. 91 pylons will be removed by summer 2022, with the eight closest to Sandford substation programmed for removal next year.
Thank you from everyone working on the project for your patience as we continue our work to deliver electricity safely, efficiently, and reliably, and support the UK’s ambition to achieve net zero by 2050.
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