Tonight BBC2 is showing ‘Meet the Pococks,’ a documentary on a crofting family living in Glen Affric, a remote part of the Scottish Highlands. It follows their desire to be self sufficient, live a sustainable life and their recent efforts to introduce electricity to their home.
Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution (SHEPD), as the operator of the local electricity network, was asked in April to provide an estimate to connect the cottage for the first time. While the family live near the replacement Beauly-Denny transmission line, this carries extra high voltage electricity down the country and domestic properties cannot be connected directly to it - they must connect into the much lower voltage local electricity network. The cottage is nearly 6km away from any local network, therefore a new network would need to be built to provide the connection and, therefore, the costs are high.
There are detailed rules for providing new connections set by Ofgem, the energy regulator. Ofgem also scrutinises our costs. Our estimate to the Pococks included the laying of the electricity cable, erecting a pole mounted transformer and providing a single phase supply. Since these works are entirely for the sole use of this property, they are fully chargeable to the applicant.
Due to this option not being viable, we discussed alternative options with the Pococks for generating electricity locally and are happy to advise further should the family wish to go ahead with one or a combination of alternative sources. We have also investigated the options for assistance from the Scottish Hydro Electric Community Trust. This fund was set up to provide assistance for of up to 30% of the connection costs for deserving applications, we appreciate however this still leaves a large balance for the family to find and it shows the challenges of providing an electricity supply in the most remote areas in the UK.
The SHEPD network covers 25% of the UK landmass with around 1% of the population, meaning that our lines have to stretch further just to reach one customer. The Pococks remind us of how some properties in remote areas are still living off grid today and the challenges we face to get them connected.