SP Energy Networks has introduced additional engineering support and trialled mobile fault-detection technology before the Games begin on Thursday. The measures may help engineers identify hidden electrical hazards, but the company’s public announcement does not provide its forecast for additional demand, the results of the survey or its detailed contingency arrangements.
Glasgow’s electricity distribution network has been placed under enhanced monitoring before the Commonwealth Games, with engineers using mobile equipment to identify contact-voltage risks and other indications of faults associated with underground distribution infrastructure.
SP Energy Networks announced the preparations on Tuesday, two days before the Games begin. The company said it was combining new fault-detection technology with increased monitoring and additional engineering support to improve the resilience of the city’s network during the event.
The measures are a reasonable precaution. A serious interruption during an international sporting event could affect competition venues, broadcasting, communications, ticketing, security systems, transport and surrounding homes and businesses.
The mobile survey is also capable of finding electrical conditions that may not be visible during an ordinary inspection. Engineers can investigate alerts and address confirmed defects before they develop into a public hazard or interruption.
Mobile equipment searches for electrical hazards
The most clearly described part of the programme is a trial conducted with Osmose Europe using a Power Survey Mobile Asset Assessment Vehicle, known as a MAAV.
The vehicle was driven through Glasgow streets to detect weak electric fields associated with faults in underground distribution equipment. These fields may indicate that a structure or surface has become unintentionally energised.
Osmose says the equipment can scan streets while travelling at speeds of up to 20mph. It is designed to detect contact-voltage risks involving infrastructure and surfaces such as street lights, manholes, fences, roads and pavements.
Signals identified by the vehicle are investigated with handheld equipment. The system can record locations, measurements and photographs and transmit reports to engineers for further examination.
The technology has previously been tested in Britain. UK Power Networks ran a £544,322 trial in central London between 2016 and 2018. Vehicles surveyed accessible streets in an area containing more than 2,000 kilometres of low-voltage underground cables and joints.
That project examined whether contact voltage could be used as an indication of faults in buried distribution infrastructure and whether the equipment was suited to British urban networks.
No demand forecast has been published
Glasgow 2026 will run from 23 July until 2 August. Ten sports and six Para sports will be held across four established venue groups: Scotstoun Stadium, the Scottish Event Campus, Tollcross International Swimming Centre and the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and Arena, which the organisers are calling the Glasgow International Arena.
The venues lie within an eight-mile corridor. Organisers expect approximately 3,000 athletes from 74 nations and territories, supported by around 3,000 volunteers and attended by thousands of spectators.
Using established venues should be less complicated than constructing and powering a new estate of temporary buildings. The facilities already host sporting, entertainment and conference events and are existing users of Glasgow’s electricity network.
The Games can nevertheless be expected to add or shift local demand through longer operating hours, broadcasting, lighting, communications, catering, security, hospitality facilities and temporary event installations. Demand around venues may also change during busy competition sessions.
SP Energy Networks says additional engineering support will be available during the Games.
Renewable electricity and physical resilience
EDF is the official energy and utilities principal partner of Glasgow 2026.
Organisers have said that Scotstoun Stadium, the Glasgow International Arena and Tollcross International Swimming Centre will be supplied through a zero-carbon electricity tariff available under the Scottish public-sector framework. Glasgow 2026 says the arrangement covers 5.4GWh of renewable electricity during the Games and beyond.
The cost has not been disclosed
SP Energy Networks has not disclosed the cost of the mobile survey, enhanced monitoring or additional engineering cover.
Electricity distribution companies operate under Ofgem’s RIIO-ED2 price control, which covers the period from 2023 to 2028. The regulator sets the revenue that network operators may recover while requiring them to meet standards for reliability, safety, customer service and value for money.
Glasgow has increased monitoring before
This is not the first time SP Energy Networks has expanded monitoring in Glasgow before a major international event.
Ahead of COP26 in 2021, the company announced that 165 VisNet monitors had been installed at Glasgow substations. The devices supplied real-time information about local electricity use and available capacity, allowing engineers to identify areas where demand was placing pressure on the network. The equipment was presented as an investment with continuing value after the conference, helping the company understand changing demand and plan future connections.
SP Energy Networks’ latest announcement does not say whether all 165 monitors remain operational. It also does not confirm whether the MAAV survey will become part of Glasgow’s routine inspection programme after the Games end.
