Restoring the land: North Wessex Downs VIP project moves into final phase
With installation of the new cable sealing end compounds (CSECs) and underground cables on the North Wessex Downs VIP project now complete, we are moving into the final phases of construction.
This includes restoring the land to the condition that it was in before the project began.
Over the next few months, you’ll see us removing the temporary haul road used by construction vehicles to travel across the site.
Our teams are working with specialist contractors, landowners and local farmers to carefully reinstate the subsoil and topsoil.
We are also working with the independent National Energy System Operator (NESO) to confirm when we can switch the power supply from the existing overhead line to our new underground cables. We expect this to take place later this autumn.
As part of this, we are waiting for a shunt reactor to come online. This equipment helps regulate the flow of electricity across the network.
Once we confirm when we’ll switch the power supply to the new underground cables, we’ll be able to finalise the programme for removing the pylons, marking the completion of the project.
We will keep local communities and stakeholders updated as soon as we have further information.
If you have any questions about this update or the project in general, please get in touch with the VIP project team by sending an email to [email protected] or calling 0330 134 0051. If we are unable to answer your call, please leave a message and a member of the team will call you back.
Dorset VIP project before and after