The centrepiece of the upgrade is the installation of a new primary substation in Guardbridge, west of St Andrews. This substation will be connected to the grid via two new underground cable circuits, each spanning 6 kilometres, running between Guardbridge and Cupar.
Construction on this project will commence later this month and is expected to continue until the end of 2025.
This investment is crucial to ensuring that St Andrews and its surrounding communities continue to enjoy a reliable and resilient electricity supply. As more people adopt low-carbon technologies like electric vehicles and heat pumps, the demand for electricity is projected to increase by 30% over the next decade. The upgraded network will accommodate this growing demand and support a cleaner, greener future.
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SP Energy Networks' commitment to modernizing the electricity infrastructure in St Andrews demonstrates their dedication to providing essential services and contributing to the region's sustainable development.
SP Energy Networks' Project Manager, Archie Ferguson, said: "This investment will be a real game-changer for the region, ensuring that people and businesses can embrace a cleaner and greener way of life with open arms.
"To put it into perspective, this project will deliver enough additional capacity to support 1,800 new EV charging points and 1,200 heat pumps across St Andrew's and the surrounding towns and villages. It will also support new grid connections for renewable energy projects like wind and solar farms, so it's very much about getting the network ready for that clean energy future.
"I have no doubt this will make a real difference for generations to come and support local ambitions to become a net zero region by 2045 – we're proud to be playing our part."
SP Energy Networks has worked closely with Fife Council to carefully plan the route for the works, purposely avoiding working along Carslogie Road, Westport and Bonnygate in Cupar. From the east side of Cupar, at East Road, the works will track along the A91, through Dairsie and on to Guardbridge.
While the works will be completed in short sections along the route, there will be disruption, and temporary traffic restrictions will be in place as needed.
Archie concluded: "We appreciate there will be some disruption and inconvenience while these works are underway and we're doing everything we can to keep that to a minimum. This includes choosing the least impactful route for our works, reducing the need for full road closures – where possible – and minimising the impact on traffic movement during the major events the area is renowned for.
"Throughout the works, we'll do everything we can to keep people informed about what's happening and when, with a leaflet drop to local homes and businesses around the first phase of the works underway."
