Substation tour for National Grid pylon fan Ted
National Grid opened the gates of two North East substations in South Shields and West Boldon to welcome a special guest, ahead of work to install new equipment at the South Shields site.
Seven-year-old pylon-enthusiast Ted Elliott from South Shields was invited to visit the substations after his mum contacted the local National Grid team about her son’s love of pylons.
Ted was shown where new advanced power flow control (APFC) equipment will be installed at the South Shields site on Hartford Road this summer by contractor Omexon, before being taken on a tour of the West Boldon substation. Ted was shown spare pylon parts and the site team explained how the pylons worked.
Stevie Elliott, Ted’s mum, said:
Ted became obsessed with knowing everything about pylons when he was younger. We spend hours driving around the local area going ‘pylon hunting’, taking him to see his favourite pylons and he loves learning more about them whilst watching videos of linesmen working on the overhead lines. When we saw work was taking place at South Shields substation, I got in touch with the team to see if there was any way we could have get a closer look at the substation and pylons.
The team were so accommodating. Ted was thrilled to meet the engineers and learn more about the pylons. He absolutely loved it from start to finish, and the team were so good with him. He doesn’t show a lot of emotion in front of new people, but he thoroughly enjoyed himself. Even me and his dad enjoyed it!
Lee Stansfield, National Grid project manager, said:
We were delighted to welcome Ted and his family to our sites and show him behind the scenes. It was wonderful to see a young boy with so much enthusiasm for and knowledge of pylons. We’re always keen to engage with the local community whilst we carry out work at South Shields substation, helping to deliver wider benefits to the community through our projects and inspiring the next generation.
Safety is a top priority for National Grid, so Ted was closely supervised by our experts during both visits, and we explained the importance of staying safe around electricity infrastructure. It goes without saying that we do not advise members of the public to get close to such infrastructure without the close monitoring and controls we put in place around these visits.
James Mason, Operations Manager for National Grid, oversaw the West Boldon tour. He added:
It was great to welcome Ted for a tour inside our West Boldon substation and seeing his interest in the electricity network. Whilst he was on site, we were able to take him safely behind the scenes and show him how a substation works, get a closer look at the parts which make up the pylons and see the vehicles we use to access the pylons. We’re certainly looking forward to Ted joining the National Grid team when he’s older!
The upcoming works at South Shields substation on Hartford Road are part of National Grid’s project to install new APFC equipment. Technologies like APFCs can help to make the existing network more efficient, intelligently pushing and pulling power across circuits and routing it to where capacity is available, freeing up electricity flow.
Installing this innovative equipment at the existing substation in South Shields will provide more consistent, real-time control over how energy is routed, supporting the ongoing need for renewable generation and capacity on the network.
More information about the project is available on National Grid’s website. National Grid’s Community Relations team are available to answer questions on 0800 3196 183 or [email protected]. They’re available from 9am-5pm Monday to Friday with an answer service outside these times.
