Major upgrade works to secure the future of the energy supply in Montrose have been completed.

Engineers from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution began upgrading the substation in February, and over the past six months have been replacing electrical equipment known as switchgear, which operates similar to the trip switches in our homes, temporarily turning the power off if a fault develops or maintenance is required.

Originally installed in 1974, the equipment was approaching the end of its scheduled working life and has been replaced with the latest technology to boost the resilience of the local network.

SSEN's Project Manager, Nathan Gannon, explains more about the switchgear and how it will improve the service for customers in parts of Montrose and surrounding villages: "The new kit is automated, which means that the engineers in our Distribution Control Centre have a real-time view of the local network, whereas in the past we would have needed a colleague to actually visit the substation to get the same details.

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"As well as giving our engineers all of this more detailed information, it will also help us reduce the number of customers that are impacted on the rare occasions there is a fault on the network, as well as shortening the actual duration of the power cut.

"When a fault causes our safety equipment to operate and turn the power off, the new technology can automatically isolate the particular section of network where the fault is and will switch the power back on for the remaining properties if safe to do so, often in a matter of minutes. This will significantly reduce the duration of a power cut for customers, as previously a member of our local team would have needed to go to the substation and manually turn the power back on."

Speaking of the project completion, Gary Bartlett, SSEN's Head of South Caledonia region, said: "We're committed to providing our customers with a safe, reliable and responsive electricity network, and this major upgrade at one of our main substations in Montrose will make a real difference to homes and businesses in the area."