Dear stakeholders,

As you will have seen over the summer we have continued our integration in the Iberdrola and Scottish Power family with the launch of our new SP Electricity North West brand and the appointment of Stephanie Trubshaw as our new Chief Operating Officer.

Over the summer months we have maximised the opportunity to forge forward with investment to strengthen the network, find out here. We also provided local authorities, Enterprising Cumbria, and NESO partners with an update on the strategic improvements taking place at Harker, a crucial interface with National Grid and across the Cumbria Ring.

Throughout the summer we have continued to reinforce community safety messages, from reminding children not to play around or enter our assets to reminding those fishing, camping and farming to LOOK OUT LOOK UP. And as schools return, we are proud to remind all teachers of our curriculum and safety linked education resources available online and our in-person workshops available to primary and secondary schools. Book in quick!

And finally, we look forward to seeing all our Local Authority partners at our special events just for you and your teams on 10th and 18th September in Manchester and Kendal. We are proud to announce that NESO speakers will join us. If you haven’t booked your space yet..there still time…just…see you there.

The start of August marked an exciting milestone – the launch of our new name and brand under one united identity: SP Electricity North West, as part of the Iberdrola Group – one of the world’s largest integrated utility companies.

Stephanie Trubshaw, SP Electricity North West’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We have always been champions of this wonderful part of the country and – as SP Electricity North West – that will continue, with our customers and communities at the heart of everything we do".

The roll out of the new identity will take time, but as assets are replaced you will start to see an increased number of newly branded vans and materials. The legal name ‘Electricity North West Limited’ has not changed and will still be used for regulatory and legal documents and contracts.

If you have any questions about the rebrand, please don’t hesitate to ask. See our news release on the change.

Secure your place at one or both of our Local Authority engagement events before 8 September!

Use the links below to register for one or both of our engagement events.

10 September at Castlefield Rooms (Greater Manchester event)

18 September at Castle Green Hotel, Kendal (Lancashire and Cumbria event)

We’re also delighted to announce two fantastic guest speakers for our two upcoming Local Authority engagement events.

🎙 Tom Worthington, Regional Energy Strategic Manager, NESO to our Manchester event on 10 September.

🎙 Kelly Loukatou, PhD, CEng, Technical Lead, NESO, to our Cumbria & Lancashire event on 18 September.

With NESO responsible for producing RESPs, local authority engagement and support is crucial to ensure our regions get the critical investment in energy infrastructure they need to support local energy planning and low carbon aspirations.

These events are a fantastic opportunity to collaborate and network with other local authorities on all things RESP, tRESP, DSO and the investment we are making in the region’s power network.

If you are from a local authority and are unable to attend either event but want to get in touch about our engagement, please contact lynn.tracey@enwl.co.uk. 

Work is now under way on a major electrical project which will enhance and upgrade the power network in Cumbria.

Engineers from SP Electricity North West have started work on the next stage of its £14m Westmorland project. Teams will work to install 11km of new 33,000-volt underground electricity cables while a new substation will also be built.

The significant investment will increase the capacity, resilience and reliability of the electricity network in the area which will benefit thousands of residents, businesses and tourists.

Charlotte Pearson, who is overseeing the project in the Westmorland area for SP Electricity North West, said: “As the region’s power network operator, we are investing in the network to make it more efficient and flexible so we can support growth and allow customers to adopt low carbon technologies such as electric vehicles and heat pumps. Cumbria has ambitious targets aiming to be net zero by 2037. We want to be proactive so we can support the county towards a cleaner and greener future".

The investment joins a half-million pound project to install lineSIGHT network restoration assets in Chorley, and a million-pound investment in Carlisle to for new underground cables for better network resilience. 

This month we supported the Hartington Hut Fun Day, next to our Preston depot, which brought together local families and children together. The STEM and Take Charge, Go Low teams shared tips about saving energy at home and being more sustainable.

Fun-filled interactive STEM games enabled children to learn about electricity and energy, to spark the next generation of engineers and experts on energy.

With summer coming to a close and schools returning to the classroom, if you're planning for back to school and need learning inspiration - check out our our free, online educational aligned resources to help teach KS2 and KS3 children about electricity. In addition to teaching the basics of electrical circuits, our sessions focus on safety and prepare students for future careers.

This month we invited representatives from the National Energy System Operator (NESO), Enterprising Cumbria, Westmorland & Furness Council and Cumberland Council to visit the Harker substation site.

Attendees were provided with a tour of the site and an opportunity to learn more about the work we're doing at Harker substation and other major network investment in Cumbria as part of the Cumbria Ring project, including a major Overhead line and pylon replacement and refurbishment running all the way from Roosecote to Sellafield. 

You can find out more about our investment programme here Network investment

Thousands of people have been enjoying the outdoors and despite holiday season coming to a close, SP Electricity North West is continuing to call on people to be cautious around its power network by looking out, looking up, and taking note of its substations and yellow ‘danger of death’ signs.This month saw a number of incidents of young people being found playing near dangerous electrical assets and equipment.

If any item ends up inside or near a dangerous electrical area, SP ENW engineers will come out to retrieve the item, as its crucial that people aren't tempted to retrieve any items such as sports equipment themselves. 

Paul Killilea, SP Electricity North West’s asset and investment director and who also oversees safety, said: “The incidents we’ve had reported to us are incredibly dangerous and I urge people to stay clear of the power network.  

“For everybody’s safety, it’s vital they’re constantly aware of what is around them, quite often, if it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind but we want people to be aware of the power network"

With harvest season also upon us, SP ENW continues to urge caution to farmers to be safe around electrical equipment and network assets whilst out working. July saw 19 incidents on the network involving farmers, and we continue to stress to farmers the importance of safety at this time of the year.

Safety is our number one priority, and we want everyone to continue to look out, and look up. 

If you are interested in finding out more about any of our stakeholder advisory panels, or if there is any topic you’d like to see in the next edition of this newsletter, please get in touch with us at stakeholderengagement@enwl.co.uk.