Behind the Wires: A Rare Look Inside Substation

On 19 July, members of the Hackney Society were given a behind-the-scenes tour of the Millfields substation in Lower Clapton—an area usually closed to the public. Hosted by National Grid, the visit offered a unique glimpse into the infrastructure that keeps London’s lights on.

Attendees received a crash course in high-voltage electricity transmission, led by engineers from the London Power Tunnels team. The tour explored the vital role substations play in managing the city’s power demands, as well as the scale and complexity of the underground network beneath Hackney.

Our people don’t avoid the hard questions, so the visit also sparked important conversations about representation in engineering. Several attendees raised questions about the number of women in the field—an especially timely topic given that only 2.5% of commissioning engineers in England and Wales are women, a figure that has only recently begun to shift.

For many, the experience was both technically interesting and socially thought-provoking—highlighting the critical but often invisible systems powering the city, and the people needed to sustain them.

Events like this reflect the Society’s ongoing commitment to broadening local understanding of the infrastructure shaping Hackney’s future. Members of the society get advanced booking and discounted entrance fees, so if you want to come along with us on our next excursion, sign up today!