Oldbury turbine hall free of electrical hazards

​Congratulations to the Oldbury team for completing a complex decommissioning project to cut and cap over 750 electrical cables to isolate the turbine hall’s power supply.

​Pioneering innovation enabled the team to cut and cap 356 electrical cables inside the tunnels between the turbine hall and reactor building over two weekends – reducing work time by 330 days. ​

This was achieved by disconnecting the site’s entire power supply to remove the risk of cutting through a live cable and the need to trace each cable to its source. A portable generator charged up the battery-operated tools and welfare facilities. ​

​Safety controls avoided work ​near to potential asbestos, in confined spaces or close to degrading assets. ​

​The learning from this innovative method of bulk cable cutting can be applied to any area of decommissioning in the right circumstances. It took 18 months to complete over 2,000 cable cuts in challenging environments and declare the building free of electrical hazards following a period of verification.​

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