
Forward planning essential for new or upgraded supplies as UK manufacturing hits a 30-year high.
Britain’s factories are benefitting from an export boom as the weak pound and demand from the strong eurozone economies leave manufacturers with the biggest order books since 1988,
The Daily Telegraph reported back in December.
To meet the surge in output new or an upgrade of existing energy supplies will be needed to keep the production lines running.
When applying for new or upgraded electricity and natural gas supplies, customers should be mindful that time is a valuable commodity. Utility companies and Energy Suppliers work to pre-set rules applied by Ofgem and will not wavier from them through fear of financial penalty.
The clock starts and stops at various points along the lengthy process with a maximum response time at each stage.
- Acknowledgement of an initial enquiry
- Preparation of formal quotation, (new/upgrade works).
- Formal notification periods relating to registration of supply contracts and meter installations.
- Scheduling of works following receipt of official acceptance and payment.
Beyond these pre-determined timescales, the physical restrictions of the planned work will determine the scheduled start date.
- Long lead materials, plant etc.
- Legal restrictions, wayleaves, highway opening notices.
- Managing network operational restrictions, (turning supplies off, installing new equipment on the network)
- Resourcing manpower.
The biggest influencing factor is often the long lead items. Projects involving more than simply extending existing infrastructure are often subject to extended timescales as items such as switchgear and transformers are not ‘off the shelf’ items. At this point customers are very much at the mercy of the utility companies and the need for cooperation is key to ensure that time saved is captured.
If you need advice or support on a specific project involving new or upgraded supplies, please give us a call on 01225 867722 so that we can help make the process as smooth as possible.