IN Brief:
- Up to 1,200 homes will be offered removal of shared or looped supplies.
- SSEN estimates 500,000 properties in its regions retain looped connections.
- An AI-led identification tool is being developed for wider customer use.
SSEN Distribution has started a pilot offering upgrades to as many as 1,200 homes that share looped electricity supplies with neighbouring properties.
The programme covers selected customers in Swindon, Southampton, Lee-on-Solent, and Ash in Surrey. Qualifying homes will be given a dedicated connection without a charge at the point of delivery, including appropriate reinstatement after the work.
A looped supply connects two or more properties to the same service cable from the street network. The arrangement was used widely during the second half of the twentieth century because it reduced the quantity of cable and excavation required when housing developments were connected.
SSEN estimates that approximately 500,000 homes, representing 16% of properties across its distribution regions, still have looped supplies. The arrangement may not be apparent from the meter position or consumer unit because the shared section can be located outside or beneath the properties.
Shared services can restrict the additional load that can be connected safely. Electric vehicle chargers, heat pumps, solar and battery systems, air-conditioning equipment, and other higher-demand technologies may therefore trigger an assessment and removal of the loop before installation.
The pilot will test how customers are identified, contacted, surveyed, scheduled, and upgraded at scale. SSEN is also developing an AI-led tool intended to help customers establish whether their property is likely to have a looped supply.
Electrification exposes the limits of legacy service connections
Domestic service connections were generally designed around the demand expected when an estate was built. Diversity between homes allowed networks to supply many properties without sizing every cable for simultaneous peak use, an assumption that becomes less reliable as sustained electrical loads increase.
A heat pump may operate for long periods during cold weather, while an EV charger can add several kilowatts for hours at a time. Where two properties share one service cable, available capacity must be considered across both homes rather than assessed independently.
Unlooping normally requires a new dedicated cable route from the distribution network to at least one property. The work can involve excavation in footways, gardens, or driveways, access to service positions, coordination with residents, and reinstatement of disturbed surfaces.
The electrical task is therefore closely tied to civil delivery. Accurate utility records, safe excavation, traffic or pedestrian management, cable jointing, service termination, testing, and restoration must be coordinated around a controlled customer outage.
Volume presents a greater challenge than technical novelty because individual unlooping jobs are established network work, whereas hundreds of thousands of possible properties require reliable data and efficient targeting. Surveying every home would be expensive and disruptive, while incomplete records create the risk of missed or unnecessary visits.
An AI-led identification system could combine historical network records, property information, known cable routes, previous surveys, and patterns drawn from confirmed looped supplies. Its output will still require field verification before work begins, particularly where records are incomplete or properties have been altered.
The programme sits alongside SSEN’s work on a framework comparing reinforcement with flexibility. Looped domestic services illustrate the point at which flexibility has limited value, since a physically inadequate connection may still require a dedicated cable regardless of how intelligently the downstream equipment is controlled.
Managed charging can reduce simultaneous EV demand, while smart controls can coordinate some flexible loads. Those measures depend on customer participation, communications, equipment compatibility, and the ability to override operation when necessary, and they cannot resolve every local thermal, voltage, or connection constraint.
Proactive unlooping can reduce delays when customers apply for low-carbon technologies. Reactive work after an installation request can extend project schedules, particularly where surveys, permits, contractors, and reinstatement must be arranged before the equipment can be energised.
Data from the pilot will inform future investment planning. Cost per completed property, the proportion of contacted customers accepting work, identification accuracy, site complexity, and interaction with planned technology installations can all shape a larger rollout.
Customer communication will influence delivery because some properties may have no immediate requirement for additional capacity, while others may already be preparing an EV charger or heat-pump installation. Residents need clear information about access, outages, excavation, reinstatement, and the capacity available after the work.
SSEN’s estimate of half a million looped properties indicates that the issue will extend beyond one regulatory period. Prioritisation may take account of known technology applications, cable condition, redevelopment, vulnerable customers, and opportunities to combine unlooping with other street works.
Selected customers can obtain further information through SSEN’s network improvements service. The opening 1,200 offers will establish whether the identification and delivery process can support a wider programme across the company’s distribution regions.
The required engineering outcome is a suitable dedicated service connection for each property. Delivering it at scale will depend on coordinated data, customer access, civil works, installation capacity, and local network planning.
