Engineers from the region’s network power operator, Electricity North West, will be installing 2.5km of new underground power cable to help increase resilience for thousands of local customers affected by the 2015 Boxing Day floods.

The project, which will start this week and end in June, will install the new cables between the substation on Woodbine Street and the substation on College Road.

Paul McGonigle, operations manager for Electricity North West, said: “We’re proud to be investing significant resource and funding into Rochdale’s local infrastructure.

“This essential investment will benefit those affected by the unprecedented floods in 2015 as we’re increasing the reliability of the network and we’ll be able to restore power quickly if any unexpected power outages occur.

“The North West’s power network is one of the most reliable in the country and we are committed to investing in projects like this ensure we continue to deliver an excellent, safe and affordable service to all our customers across the region.”

Engineers will keep any disruption to a minimum and there may be temporary traffic lights in place to allow the work to be carried out safely.

If customers have any queries about the project, they can call Electricity North West 24/7 on the new national free number 105, or 0800 195 4141 or follow @ElectricityNW.