JE’s £120 million investment over five years will ensure the electricity network has the reach and capacity to support an all-electric future, reliably powering heating systems in homes and businesses and charging the growing number of electric vehicles on Jersey’s roads.
Highlights from the first year of The Big Upgrade include:
- 40 infrastructure upgrade projects have been initiated.
- Electricity infrastructure serving 22 major housing areas has been successfully upgraded.
- Six further projects are in progress with seven more in the planning stage.
- 11 kilometres of new underground cables have been laid.
- Digital innovation has enabled a 50% increase in planning output without increasing operational overheads.
- Safely demolished a 3000 sqm site housing a decommissioned steam turbine at La Collette, with 17,000 disconnections (circuits for telemetry and power) totalling over 12,000 hours of work by JE’s engineers.
“We’ve made great progress in the first year of The Big Upgrade, and so many people have been involved in that success – jointers, overhead linesmen, metering techs, construction engineers, planning engineers and the asset management team who put a lot of the work in up front to establish where we wanted the network to be improved. But I know there have been some significant challenges, and it’s great to see the way teams have met those challenges head on."
Mark Preece, Chief Operating Officer
Mark Preece, Chief Operating Officer of Jersey Electricity, said: “We’ve made great progress in the first year of The Big Upgrade, rapidly increasing the scale of infrastructure investment our engineers and partners have delivered. Through strategic investment and digital innovation, we’ve defined exactly which areas need the most reinforcement and focused our activity to create maximum benefit for customers.
“A crucial element of The Big Upgrade is making sure that the electricity network is ready for the future. We are going to see more customers switching to electric heating in the coming years and investing in electric vehicles. Customers can be assured that, when the time is right for them, the electricity network is ready for them.
“Naturally this level of network investment does create roadworks and diversions. We’re acutely conscious of this and work hard to ensure we keep disruption to a minimum. We’re grateful for Islanders’ patience as we deliver this ambitious programme of works to deliver the electricity network that will meet our Island’s needs, long into the future.”
As part of the five-year programme, JE will reinforce around 10% of the existing low voltage network to enable 20,000 Islanders to switch to electricity as fossil fuel boilers are phased out in line with the government’s Carbon Neutral Roadmap.
Key infrastructure developments over the five years include:
- The upgrading of 100km of new low-voltage cabling.
- Construction of 20 new substations.
- A major subsea cable replacement.
- An additional 50MW of backup generation capacity.
- A smart metering infrastructure upgrade.
These upgrades are essential not only for heating and domestic energy use but also for the rapid rise in electric vehicle charging demand. As the Island embraces cleaner transport, having a resilient and future-ready electricity network is fundamental to achieving net zero and ensuring Jersey remains powered sustainably for generations to come.
“We have to make sure that we have the manpower for the Big Upgrade. Cable jointing is a specialised skill, and takes a lot of years to learn, but we’ve got a few retirements coming up over the trajectory of this five year project. That’s why our apprentices are so important. And this is a great environment for them because they’re part of this major infrastructure upgrade that the Island needs – and that’s exciting. But it’s also good for them to see the experienced guys coming up against challenges. We do a lot of planning, of course, but we do come across adversities on site and you have to think on your feet to come up with a plan to complete the job safely. You have to adapt. I’m proud of all of them.”
Jimilee Caldwell, Construction Team Leader
