An SSEN Distribution-led initiative exploring faster, less disruptive ways to upgrade domestic electricity connections has secured new funding to progress to the next stage.

Grounds for Change examines how to improve the upgrading of connections needed to provide extra capacity for Low-Carbon Technologies.

Around half a million homes in SSEN's licence areas still have a looped electricity supply, where a cable from the street is shared between two neighbouring properties. Many post-war homes were built this way to reduce costs at a time when today's higher demand was not anticipated. With the shift from gas heating to heat pumps and a rise in EV ownership, these properties often require more power than a looped connection can deliver.

Currently, unlooping typically means digging an open trench—often through a driveway or garden—with works lasting around three days on average. The latest support will fund the development of alternative approaches that avoid trenching, aiming to deliver the upgrade in a single day.

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The methods to be tested include excavation, narrow-slot installation and soil recycling. Trials will take place at SSEN-owned sites so no customer supplies will be affected.

Grounds for Change has secured Cycle 6 Alpha funding from Ofgem's Strategic Innovation Fund, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.

Rhys Williams, SSEN Distribution's project manager for Grounds for Change, said: "Millions of domestic supplies across the UK will require upgrading if they're to support households' ability to move over to cost-efficient, environmentally friendly Low-Carbon Technologies. But the current means of upgrading these supplies shows room for improvement. Unlooping via an open trench is often disruptive, and it's relatively costly too.

"Bill payers are helping fund this work through their standing charges, so we want to develop new methods that make their contribution go further, while also cutting down on the inconvenience to customers while improvements are delivered.

"The initial stage of this project identified there's not one single solution for the better delivery of these upgrades, which is why this new phase will interrogate a range of alternatives.

"My ambition is to identify ways we can do this work in a way that's more convenient, less disruptive, less polluting, and makes better use of bill payers' money. Having a range of methods at our disposal will also speed up the delivery of these improvements, because we'll be drawing on a range of different suppliers."

SSEN Distribution thanked project partners the Energy Innovation Centre and Southampton City Council, whose support will be invaluable in the next phase.