MP welcomes 230k funding package to deal with electricity blackouts

Local MP Tim Farron has welcomed the news that Electricity North West (ENW) has agreed to invest £230,000 to deal with blackouts in South Lakes villages.

Homes in Levens and Brigsteer, as well as parts of Kendal went without electricity over the weekend after another power cut hit Cumbria. Tim has asked ENW what they are doing to deal with these recurrent issues.

Today ENW, the company that owns and maintains the regional power network, has announced a £230,000 plan to improve local infrastructure. ENW has started to replace ageing poles and refurbish the overhead power lines along 50km of the network between Milnthorpe, Heversham, Levens and Witherslack. In all around 500 poles will be upgraded and 2,000 residents will have a more reliable power supply to their homes and businesses. Any disruption will be kept to a minimum and there will be no road closures. Planned shutdowns will take place to allow our engineers to carry out the work safely and all customers will be notified beforehand. If anyone living in the area has any queries about the project, they are advised to call Electricity North West on 0800 195 4141.

After complaints by residents about power issues in Crooklands last year, Tim was able to secure £250,000 to improve the infrastructure in and around the village and is now celebrating this latest investment.

Tim said: "I've been asking Electricity North West to provide me with their plan to fix this problem, so I'm delighted that they have announced this funding package which I hope will deal with the issue once and for all. Local residents cannot be expected to be without electricity as frequently as it seems to happen at the moment."