Engineering services specialist, Ipsum Group, has won a four-year contract to replace Sheffield Forgemasters’ entire High Voltage (HV) network assets across its 85-acre site.
The HV project, valued at more than £40 million, will upgrade the engineering company’s vast cabling and HV assets as it undergoes a £1.3 billion recapitalisation programme, which includes construction of a new 13,000 tonne Forging Line and a 30,000 m2 Machine Shop.
Upgrading the HV infrastructure will significantly increase the supply capacity for Sheffield Forgemasters with the installation of new 33kV supplies to site from Northern Powergrid’s substation almost three miles away, it will also significantly improve the resilience of the connection to the District Network Operator and National Grid networks.
Craig Fisher, Programmes Director at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “The upgrade of our HV infrastructure is a huge undertaking. Much of our existing HV equipment is more than 40-years old, so its replacement is essential to ensuring continued, secure production.
“Ipsum will install more than 75,000 metres of cabling across all areas of the site, predominately underground, as well as replacing every HV asset whilst maintaining access and power supply to the Sheffield Forgemasters’ operations throughout the scheme.
“Additional capacity to drive new plant, including the new Forging Line and more than 15 large-scale machines in the new machine shop, and added security of supply through multiple feeds will protect the crucial work that we do for UK defence programmes.”
The introduction of a data acquisition and control system for the new HV network will ensure efficiencies can be introduced into the network at the correct times and the reaction to any faults will be significantly improved.
Barry Grier, Managing Director from Ipsum Power (Private Networks), said: “We are delighted to continue our long-term partnership with Sheffield Forgemasters. The contract to replace all the HV assets, whilst ensuring continual HV supply to its operations is significant and complex.
“Our teams have a very strong and successful working relationship, and we are already on-site working with the Sheffield Forgemasters Recapitalisation team, led by Ipsum’s Ian Needham, to ensure smooth delivery of the project.”
 network assets across its 85-acre site.){kind=link}