Power under foot
Grid cables along the Regent's canal
Walkers and runners on the towpath of the canal through Camden stride on concrete slabs. Underneath are power cables which distribute electricity to Londoners.
Safe electricity underground
London has few unsightly overhead cables. Most cables run under a metre of earth including the cables along the canal towpath.
Engineers have to insulate electricity cables from their surroundings. There is no problem with overhead lines because air is an insulator. Underground cables have to be wrapped in layers of insulating material. Grid cables underground need very high quality insulation because they operate at a very high voltage.
Warning signs
The warning words on the concrete slabs show that the cables back to the days before privatisation in 1989 when electricity was supplied by the CEGB (Central Electricity Generating Board).
There are also warning signs on the bridges. It is hard to know what passers-by have to worry about. Presumably the danger is that anyone wanting to dig up the towpath might injure the cables and electrocute themselves.
Submitted by: Andrew Hunt, 22 January 2007
