The Hinkley Connection Project has achieved a significant milestone with the upgrade of 17km of overhead electricity lines between Shurton and Bridgwater from 275kV to 400kV. Since 2018, National Grid Electricity Transmission has been constructing a new high voltage electricity connection between Bridgwater and Seabank, near Avonmouth. This extensive project includes overhead electricity lines, lattice pylons and T-pylons, two new substations at Shurton and Sandford, and 8.5km of cables under the Mendip Hills National Landscape.
Somerset Wildlife Trust has used its £16, 589 community grant to invest in essential equipment, including a chipper, chainsaws, and protective gear for scrub clearance.
With the improved equipment, scrub clearance on the reserve is now faster, more cost-effective, and less labour-intensive. It allows the team to maintain the reserve more efficiently while freeing up volunteers for other critical restoration work. Since buying the new gear, the Trust has successfully cleared over 2,000 square metres of scrub and trees from ditches and watercourses at the Reserve.
National Grid has backed the opening of a new community café in Bristol, which aims to support ex-offenders and reduce reoffending rates across the South West. As part of the Hinkley Connection Project’s Adult Skills Programme, local charity The Key Unlock Potential were awarded with £100,000 in funding to bring the initiative to life.
Working in collaboration with Bath Demolition, the dismantled bridge will be given a new lease of life. It is being repurposed for other projects to reduce environmental impact and ensure that materials are not wasted.
The project is part of a series of circuit upgrades taking place across the country which aim to speed up connections to the electricity transmission network and support a secure, affordable and clean energy system. The project does not involve replacing, moving or building any new pylons.
The work demonstrates National Grid’s continued investment in its network across Wales, with £3.2bn of investment planned between 2026-2031 to maintain, upgrade and develop the network.
- Survey vessels operating close to East Riding of Yorkshire coastline for low-impact seabed surveys
- Surveys undertaken to support the development of Eastern Green Link 2 subsea cable route
- Barge to be installed for geotechnical surveys in the Bridlington Bay area
- Full access to Fraisthorpe beach maintained while surveys take place
- Project will help enable clean, home-grown energy transmission between Scotland and England
Marine surveys will be undertaken close to the shore around Bridlington and Fraisthorpe this summer as part of Eastern
What do lineworkers do?
When you switch on the lights or boil the kettle, electricity travels from generators like wind farms or power stations along overhead power cables – known as lines - to get to your home.
It's important that electricity is available 24/7, not just to charge our phones and keep our homes heated, but to run hospitals, schools and transport systems. So those overhead lines must be kept resilient against all kinds of weather and repaired if they’re damaged or experience a fault.