'Smart Street' plan will cut electricity bills in Lancashire

A pioneering energy project that could see customers in Lancashire save up to £60 a year on their electricity bills and help the UK move towards a low carbon economy is set to be launched by Electricity North West.
Steve Cox of Electricity North WestSteve Cox of Electricity North West
Steve Cox of Electricity North West

The distribution network operator, which looks after an area stretching from Cheshire to Cumbria, has unveiled plans to roll out a project called ‘Smart Street’ following an £18million allowance from the energy regulator, Ofgem.

Up to 45,000 customers, including some in areas with high levels of fuel poverty, are set to benefit from the project, which will see innovative voltage control devices – the first of their type in the UK – being installed at substations across the electricity network.

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The project will target areas with high uptake of electric vehicles, solar panels and other low carbon technologies, particularly where these overlap with customers living in fuel poverty.

The rollout follows a successful four-year trial across the North West, where improvements in energy efficiency resulted in customer electricity consumption being reduced by between five and eight per cent, alongside a reduction in carbon emissions of between seven and 10 per cent.

Smart Street has been developed and designed by the innovation team at Electricity North West and will make it possible for the network operator to optimise the level of electricity delivered to households or businesses on various parts of the network, in line with real-time demand.

Steve Cox, Engineering and Technical Director at Electricity North West, said: “We knew that if we could supply electricity at a more optimised level for our customers, we could save our customers money on their electricity bills and support important regional and national decarbonisation targets.

“Through a range of comprehensive trials, we’ve seen the positive impact that this technology has.”