Gorman Switchgear Control & Protection Room
Article By Paul McCann, Project Manager | Renewables
Thorne & Derrick secured under competitive tender the order to supply the 33kV Termination & Jointing Materials Package for the medium voltage substation construction from Omexom – this included Size 1- 3 PFISTERER Connex Inner Cone Bushing Connectors and Nexans Euromold Interface C standard and piggy-back configuration Outer Cone Bushing Connectors. Previously, T&D had supplied the Omexom cable jointing teams with cable preparation tools for the safe and efficient stripping of medium voltage cables.
Omexom Ireland are finishing up work on the new Gorman 110/20kV substation. The substation is located 2km outside of Slane in county Meath, Ireland, with work starting in July 2021 and finalising by the end of January 2022. The €2.4M contract was awarded from Scottish Power Renewables for the complete design and build of the 110/20kV substation to enable the connection of a 50MW battery storage complex.
Omexom Ireland are finishing up work on the new Gorman 110/20kV substation. The substation is located 2km outside of Slane in county Meath, Ireland, with work starting in July 2021 and finalising by the end of January 2022.
The €2.4M contract was awarded from Scottish Power Renewables for the complete design & build of the 110/20kV substation to enable the connection of a 50MW battery storage complex. The project is part of a contestable works model introduced in Ireland recently meaning it had to comply with all the Eirgrid/ESBN construction standards.
The new Gorman substation was designed, constructed & commissioned by Omexom Ireland to the Local TSO operator’s specifications (Eirgrid/ESBN). Construction of the substation included: 110kV sealing ends; Current Transformers (CT) and Voltage Transformers (VT); Surge arrestors; a 60Mva transformer (110kV to 20kV); a complete switchgear control building as well as all the necessary auxiliary systems, complete with control & protection panels to operate and protect the 3 panel NX Plus 20kV switchgear supplying the 50MW battery storage complex including 7kM of 20kV cabling.
Once completed at the end of the month the Gorman 110/20kV substation will provide vital grid stability services to the Northern Dublin area.
Specialist Distributors to the UK and international Offshore Wind & Renewable industry to provide safe and reliable LV HV Electrical Cable & Power Distribution Systems up to 66kV – we are highly customer responsive and absolutely committed to providing a world-class service. Contact our UK Power Team for competitive quotations, fast delivery from stock and technical support or training on all LV-HV products.
Key Product Categories: Duct Seals | Cable Cleats | Cable Glands | Electrical Safety | Arc Flash Protection | Cable Jointing Tools | Cable Pulling | Earthing | Feeder Pillars | Cable Joints LV | Joints & Terminations MV HV
Substation Spigots
The PBwel Substation portable earthing equipment range is designed to meet the specific requirements of ENA Technical Specification 41-21.
PBwel offer range of spigots such as Suspended Busbar Spigot, Type A & Type B Aluminium Spigots, Type C Spigot, Type D Spigot and Type H Suspended Busbar Aluminium Spigot.
All PBwel Spigots are designed to be permanently fitted to a new or existing busbar. The PBwel spigots have a proven track record of assurance and quality, which has been fully approved and tested by the National Grid and are in use throughout the UK substations.
| Product Preference | Body Part Number | Spigot Part Number | Busbar Size (mm) |
| CE75/250 | EFF-16771 | EFF-16780 | 250 |
| CE75/220 | EFF-16772 | EFF-16780 | 220 |
| CE76/200 | EFF-16773 | EFF-16780 | 200 |
| CE76/190 | EFF-16774 | EFF-16780 | 190 |
| CE76/160 | EFF-16775 | EFF-16780 | 160 |
| CE77/140 | EFF-16776 | EFF-16780 | 140 |
| CE77/127 | EFF-16777 | EFF-16780 | 127 |
| CE77/120 | EFF-16778 | EFF-16780 | 120 |
| CE77/115 | EFF-16779 | EFF-16780 | 115 |
* Note: A Suspended Busbar requires both a body and spigot assembly as shown upon the chart.
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| Bolt On Corona Shields For Spigots | Suspended Busbar Spigot CE75, CE76 & CE77 | Type A Aluminium Spigots | Type B Aluminium Spigots |
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| Type C Spigots | Type D Spigots 63.5 230 Aluminium | Type E Spigots | Type H Spigots Suspended Aluminium Spigot |
PB Weir Substation Earthing and Transmission Line Earthing Equipment include line end clamps, earth end clamps, portable earthing leads and operating poles for high voltage substations, overhead power line and transmission line applications – voltages include 11kV, 33kV, 66kV, 132kV up to 400kV.
Thorne & Derrick provide competitive prices and fast delivery from stock for the complete range of PB Weir substation earthing and transmission line earthing equipment.
In 2018 In 2018 PB Weir joined the Novarc group and re-branded as PBwel and now, through the ESP group of companies, we are able to supply, support and maintain a comprehensive range of Electrical Safety Equipment which includes: Earthing, Insulated Tools, Arc Flash Protection, Personal Voltage Detection Helmets, Insulating Gloves, Voltage Detection, Operating Poles & Lock-Out Tag-out.
ALADIN | Improved electrical safety levels for workers operating near live equipment
➡ Read More Here: ALADIN Individual Voltage Alarm With Headlamp For MV Overhead Lines 10-69kV
Product Spotlight | see Live Line Indicators designed for use upon overhead a.c. rail electrification systems operating at 25kV nominal voltage to indicate the presence of extra high voltages to aid safe working practices.
Thorne & Derrick International are specialist distributors of LV, MV & HV Cable Installation, Jointing, Duct Sealing, Substation & Electrical Equipment – servicing UK and global businesses involved in cable installations, cable jointing, substation, overhead line and electrical construction at LV, 11kV, 33kV and EHV.
Alroc BRMRD1 MV HV Cable Jointing Tool
MV HV Medium & High Voltage Cables
The below video shows the Alroc BRMRD1 insulation removal stripping tool in use by cable jointers removing the XLPE insulation to prepare the cable ready for the installation of cable joints, terminations or connectors.
Cable preparation is essential to the performance and stability of MV-HV cable joints and terminations – if cables are prepared incorrectly using sub-standard tools or basic hand tools then the risk incidence of cable failure is increased.
The BRMRD1 cable tools manufactured by Alroc enable the cable jointer to set the length and remove the XLPE insulation with a straight and neat cut on MV cables and are predominantly used by MV-HV cable jointers.
The following instructions detail how to use the BRMRD1 insulation removal and stripping tool safely and effectively.
| Cable Tool Part Number | Diameter | Tool Capacity | Dimensions | Packaging | ||
| Insulation Thickness Capacity | Length | Width | Height | |||
| BRMRD1E | 14 – 40 mm / 0.551 – 1.575 in | 9 mm / 0.354 in | 270 mm / 10.630 in | 100 mm / 3.937 in | 165 mm / 6,496 in | None |
Alroc Cable Tools 11kV 33kV MV HV
For more than 30 years, ALROC has been engineering, designing and manufacturing cable jointing tools, cable preparation tools and cable fixing solutions to establish the most complete product range in the following areas:
Jointing & Preparation Tools For Cable Jointers & Linesmen Working On MV-HV-EHV Cables
Thorne & Derrick are national distributors of LV, MV & HV Cable Installation, Jointing, Substation & Electrical Equipment – servicing businesses involved in cabling, jointing, substation, earthing, overhead line and electrical construction at LV, 11kV, 33kV, 66kV and EHV. Supplying a complete range of power cable accessories to support the installation and maintenance of low/medium and high voltage power systems:
Key Product Categories: Duct Seals | Cable Cleats | Cable Glands | Electrical Safety | Arc Flash Protection | Cable Jointing Tools | Cable Pulling | Earthing | Feeder Pillars | Cable Joints LV | Joints & Terminations MV
STEP UP FOR SAFETY – “Do we do enough to Protect Civil & Utility Contractors within the railway boundary?”
Guest Article | The following article has been republished with the kind permission of Integrum Power Engineering.
Integrum Power Engineering are committed to providing highest quality engineering services and solutions designed to add value to their clients’ businesses whilst maintaining a zero-harm approach to safety and the environment – operating in all sectors and industries where power distribution engineering services are required, including renewables, utilities, oil and gas, mass transit, private networks and independent connections.
LV HV Power Engineering Services
– Network modelling and fault analysis
– Power distribution network protection scheme design
– Protection relay settings and Programmeable Scheme Logic
– IEC 61850 substation automation design
– Protection transformer sizing and specification
– Protection & Control and SCADA interface design
– Substation earthing system analysis, modelling and detailed design
– Substation LV and domestic services design
– Substation protection & control panel secondary design
You can contact Integrum Power Engineering here.
Last year an article had been produced assessing the types of Arc Flash Risks and the prevention of those same risks through the implementation of effective Arc Flash Clothing & PPE for workers in the UK Highways & Street Lighting industry.
With the incident at Network Rail’s Godinton Substation in December 2018, still at the forefront of our minds at Integrum Power Engineering, the question that has been raised is: “Do we do enough to Protect Civil & Utility Contractors within the railway boundary?”
Electrical arcing (sometimes called a ‘flashover’ or ‘arc flash’) can generate intense heat leading to deep-seated and slow healing burns. The intense ultraviolet radiation from an electric arc can also cause damage to the eyes.
An arc fault is similar to the arc obtained during electric welding and the fault has to be manually started by something creating the path of conduction or a failure, such as a breakdown in insulation or contact with a conducting object.
When the air quality or insulation is degraded with moisture or other impurities, the possibility of an arc striking is increased. The arc column temperature can vary from 5,000ºC to 20,000ºC and the intense heat can vaporise the conductors and surrounding materials.
It can cause severe shock waves, splattering of molten debris, loud explosions due to the rapidly released vapour, as well as shrapnel and serious burn injury to anyone in the vicinity. The arc has a tendency to move away from its source.
Cable strikes are one of the most common causes of an Arc Flash, with approximately 60,000 strikes taking place in the UK per year.
The HSE states that around 1,000 workplace electrical incidents are reported to them each year, with around 25 people a year dying from their injuries.
It can be assumed that the proportion of incidents which resulted in life changing injuries or death being caused by Arc Flash incidents are likely to be even higher.
Alarmingly, ProGARM’s recent research revealed that a staggering 57% of electrical workers had first-hand experience of an Arc Flash incident having experienced or seen someone else suffer a strike during their career. This supports that the frequency of Arc Flash incidents that occur are far higher than the officially reported electrical incident statistics to HSE.
LVac Arc Flash victim in USA
Despite being extremely dangerous – potentially fatal for those caught in one – the UK’s Health & Safety Executive (HSE) categorises such reportable incidents together with all other electrical work incidents.
Regulation 4(1) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 states
‘All systems shall at all times be of such construction as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, danger’.
Regulation 2(1) of the same regulations defines danger as meaning the risk of injury and
‘injury means the death or personal injury from electric shock, electric burn, electrical explosion or arcing, or from fire or explosion initiated by electrical energy, where any such death or injury is associated with the generation, provision, transmission, transformation, rectification, conversion, conduction, distribution, control, storage, measurement or use of electrical energy’.
Electricity is a hazard, and the risks posed are electric shock, burns, fires, arcing and explosion. Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 states:
‘every employer shall make suitable and sufficient assessment of: (a) the risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work; and (b) the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking, for the purpose of identifying the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements of and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions and by Part II of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997’.
There are two types of enforcement notices that have been issued by the HSE that refer to Arc Flash, Improvement Notices and Prohibition Notices. There have been 37 Enforcement Notices issued in the past few years by the HSE that concern Arc Flash. The Enforcement Notices cite the following Legislation and Regulations:
Following the Godinton incident, the minimum requirements for Arc Flash PPE have been enhanced.
But the enhancements are only limited to Distribution & Plant maintenance and projects staff who undertake work inside traction / non traction distribution locations, which are required to wear the following at all times:
In May 2015, an Injured Person (IP) undertaking work on behalf of Amey was removing the bottom of a concrete service box with a hand-held breaker machine to lay a cable duct in a non railway environment. The IP hit a live 11,000Vac cable that was under the box and received an electric shock. The IP’s clothing caught fire and sustained serious burns to their face, chest, arms, hands, legs and stomach.
The IP was put in a medically induced coma for two weeks and has undergone several skin grafts. The accident also affected their eyesight and heart rhythm, while nerve damage means they no longer have full use of their left hand. The IP still attends physiotherapy appointments and has been unable to return to work.
Amey stopped work immediately after the accident and has since reviewed its safety procedures and operating practices. Amey now mandate the requirement that all workers wear arc flash personal protective equipment. Amey has also appointed an Electrical Duty Holder and improved its risk assessment process and increased supervisor training.
Operatives are exposed to arc flash risks if correct digging procedures are not followed while excavating underground electricity cables – operatives have suffered arc flash burns when digging with a hammer drill directly above an identified live buried cable. Upon making contact with even a 415Vac street lighting cable, ‘arc flash’ would still occur resulting in burns to the wrist and elbow and a visit to the hospital A&E. Never dig directly over an identified live buried service. Powered hand tools used close to live cables are likely to represent the greatest risk of injury.
In brief, good practice can be achieved by implementing certain tasks:
1)Calculate the Arc Flash Incident Energy Levels and Arc Flash Boundary Distances on each piece of equipment that is connected to your Electrical Distribution Network.
2)Label the equipment with the calculated values and recommended Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that could be used to mitigate the risk.
3)Reduce the arc flash incident energy levels. (where practicable)
4)Carry out task-based arc flash risk assessments on the equipment with the highest levels of incident energy.
5)Give your staff the competence to understand Arc Flash Risk and how they can mitigate it.
6)Ensure visitors and contractors on your site understand their responsibilities in ensuring that your arc flash risk is managed appropriately.
The simple answer is yes. By virtue of Regulation 4(1) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the need to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of risk and to put measures in place to protect those who could be put at risk is mandated.
Regulation 4(1) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 states ‘All systems shall at all times be of such construction as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, danger’. Regulation 2(1) of the same regulations defines danger as meaning the risk of injury and ‘injury means the death or personal injury from electric shock, electric burn, electrical explosion or arcing, or from fire or explosion initiated by electrical energy, where any such death or injury is associated with the generation, provision, transmission, transformation, rectification, conversion, conduction, distribution, control, storage, measurement or use of electrical energy’.
Electricity is a hazard, and the risks posed are electric shock, burns, fires, arcing and explosion. Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 states ‘every employer shall make suitable and sufficient assessment of: (a) the risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work; and (b) the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking, for the purpose of identifying the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements of and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions and by Part II of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997’.
Despite all that has been recommended by HSE a recent study by ProGARM and the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) revealed a shocking level of widespread industry ignorance with 25% of employers attributing the sole responsibility to the employee, not the employer, to self-protect against arc flash.
This employer-employee confrontation across the knowledge gap is exacerbated by government passivity, resulting in an unresolved tension with workers endangered daily due to lack of understanding and ultimately absence of UK legislation – until more legal action is taken, as in the USA, the stand-off prevails and the risk pervades.
So as not to get caught up in this “Mexican Standoff” mentality on TRUW, should we not “Step Up for Safety” and consider mandating Arc Flash PPE in which to further protect Civil & Utility Contractors within the railway boundary?
More findings from the BSIF report:
We’re here to help you find the right solution for your operatives who are at risk of an electric arc to make sure they come home safely.
Polo Shirts | Jackets | Coveralls | Trousers | Gloves | Sweatshirts | Helmets
Thorne and Derrick are proud to be distributors of ProGARM arc flash coveralls and protection.
We can help – should you require arc flash calculators or advice on the type of clothing and protection available please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thorne & Derrick are national distributors of LV, MV & HV Cable Installation, Jointing, Substation & Electrical Equipment – servicing businesses involved in cabling, jointing, substation, earthing, overhead line and electrical construction at LV, 11kV, 33kV, 66kV and EHV. Supplying a complete range of power cable accessories to support the installation and maintenance of low/medium and high voltage power systems:
Key Product Categories: Duct Seals | Cable Cleats | Cable Glands | Electrical Safety | Arc Flash Protection | Cable Jointing Tools | Cable Pulling | Earthing | Feeder Pillars | Cable Joints LV | Joints & Terminations MV
50sqmm Arctic Orange Field Drain Earth
Earthing Leads By PBwel
The PBwel range of Drain Earths & Earthing Leads and equipment for the Electricity Transmission and Distribution sector are renowned within the industry and are suitable for temporary earthing of transmission line conductors within the range 132kV, 275kV and 400kV high voltage ranges.
The PBwel 50sqmm Arctic Orange Field Drain Earths are created by multi-stranded pure aluminium and are available to any lengths required. With short circuit rating of 8.9kA/s, continued current rating of 150A and weight per metre of 190g.
50sqmm Arctic Orange Field Drain Earth – EFL-19128
PB Weir Substation Earthing and Transmission Line Earthing Equipment include line end clamps, earth end clamps, portable earthing leads and operating poles for high voltage substations, overhead power line and transmission line applications – voltages include 11kV, 33kV, 66kV, 132kV up to 400kV.
Thorne & Derrick provide competitive prices and fast delivery from stock for the complete range of PB Weir substation earthing and transmission line earthing equipment.
In 2018 In 2018 PB Weir joined the Novarc group and re-branded as PBwel and now, through the ESP group of companies, we are able to supply, support and maintain a comprehensive range of Electrical Safety Equipment which includes: Earthing, Insulated Tools, Arc Flash Protection, Personal Voltage Detection Helmets, Insulating Gloves, Voltage Detection, Operating Poles & Lock-Out Tag-out.
ALADIN | Improved electrical safety levels for workers operating near live equipment
➡ Read More Here: ALADIN Individual Voltage Alarm With Headlamp For MV Overhead Lines 10-69kV
Product Spotlight | see Live Line Indicators designed for use upon overhead a.c. rail electrification systems operating at 25kV nominal voltage to indicate the presence of extra high voltages to aid safe working practices.
Thorne & Derrick International are specialist distributors of LV, MV & HV Cable Installation, Jointing, Duct Sealing, Substation & Electrical Equipment – servicing UK and global businesses involved in cable installations, cable jointing, substation, overhead line and electrical construction at LV, 11kV, 33kV and EHV.
Published 18 Mar 2026
INDUSTRIAL LABEL PRINTING SOLUTIONS When clear, durable and professional identification is required across control panels, cable systems, production facilities and industrial installations, print quality, reliability and ease of use are critical. Cembre industrial label printers are designed to support...
Published 18 Mar 2026
HIGH VOLTAGE JUNCTION BOXES & ENCLOSURES When high-voltage power distribution and cable termination are required, safety, enclosure integrity and long-term reliability are critical. HV Junction Boxes and Electrical Enclosures manufactured by Abtech are engineered for the safe distribution, cable termination and protection...
