Electricity linesmen with a head for heights have completed a £600,000 project by Southern Electric Power Distribution to re-paint 26 pylons, helping to keep the lights on for thousands of residents near Totton.
The 35 metre high structures, along a 6km stretch of the electricity network between Fletchwood and Rownhams, have been given the facelift to extend their longevity for many more years to come.
Armed with paint pots and brushes and secured by safety harnesses, the team of pylon painters have scaled each structure, stripped then prepared the metal work with primer before applying special weather resistant top coat. Over 1,000 litres of paint have been used overall in the project, with line maintenance and concrete foundation work also completed as part of the refurbishment programme.
Project manager, Sid Humphries, explained: “The painters literally climb to the top of each pylon, then methodically work their way down until they’ve finished. It’s been quite a challenging job, with very cold and windy conditions, and for the safety of the team, it’s been necessary to stop work during heavy rain, or when temperatures dip below a certain mark. We’ve had to go across privately owned land to access some of the pylons, and we’d like to thank all the landowners and residents in the vicinity of this work for their co-operation and patience while we’ve completed the job.
“The investment we’ve made into this part of the network will make the structures more robust and better able to stand up to poor weather for many years to come. It will improve the reliability of the electricity supply in for the 12,000 or so residents in the area supplied by this part of the network.”
The works are part of a £330 million company-wide investment programme being implemented over the next four years.