Yn y pumed rhifyn hwn o gylchlythyr y prosiect, rydyn ni’n rhoi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf am y gwaith adeiladu sydd wedi cael ei wneud ar y prosiect dros y flwyddyn ddiwethaf, gan gynnwys lansio ein Peiriant Twnelu, Buddug. Rydyn ni hefyd yn amlinellu ein gwaith ymgysylltu parhaus â rhanddeiliaid lleol a'r gymuned ehangach.
Gobeithiwn y byddwch chi'n mwynhau darllen hwn a dysgu mwy am ein gwaith hyd yma ar brosiect Darpariaeth Effaith Weledol Eryri.
In the fifth edition of our project newsletter, we provide a progress update on the construction work that has been carried out on the project over the past year, including the launch of our Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), Buddug. We also outline our continued engagement with local stakeholders and the wider community.
We do hope you enjoy reading this and finding out more about our work to date on the Eryri VIP project.
Located just a few miles from the project site, the Hub’s reconstruction has been four years in the making, following a devastating fire in June 2021. Since then, the trustees have raised over £750,000 to rebuild the facility, with support from the National Lottery, the government’s Levelling Up Fund and National Grid’s Community Grant Programme.
Ofgem has today published its Final Determination for the RIIO-T3 framework covering our National Grid Electricity Transmission business for the period April 2026 to March 2031. The proposals include a real allowed cost of equity of 6.12% at 60% gearing.
We welcome Ofgem’s recognition of the need for significant investment into the electricity transmission sector to continue to deliver world leading reliability whilst nearly doubling the amount of power we can transfer around the country.
This uptick can be especially difficult for those households struggling to pay energy bills to avoid shutoffs. That's why a team from National Grid New England worked diligently to create a new low- income discount programme for Massachusetts customers. The team designed, proposed, testified to regulators, and ultimately received approval through the state for a first of a kind, multi- tiered low- income discount programme.
For Gemma Feltham, a community benefit advisor at National Grid, it’s about more than infrastructure – it’s about people.
In her role, Gemma is helping shape how National Grid can best support those living near its projects.
“I never expected to work in infrastructure and construction, but once I did, I realised how rewarding it could be,” she said.
Following all the hard work that’s gone on already – digging trenches, laying ducting and jointing the cables, the next step is to make sure that it works. Testing the new underground cables is a crucial stage, ensuring they can operate safely and effectively once connected.
A specialist company, KEMA Labs, conducted the testing, which involved bringing specialist equipment to site that energised the cables with 260 kV for one hour to check and confirm their capability to safely transmit the necessary voltage once in operation.
The 17-metre, 21-tonne structure made of steel was installed just north of Tarnock in September 2019. It has served as vital infrastructure during the construction of the new 400,000-volt underground cable section beneath the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty between Bridgewater and Seabank near Avonmouth. This cabling approach removes the need for pylons in this protected landscape, reducing the project’s visual impact and preserving the area’s valuable ecology whilst still providing resilient power supplies to the region.
