Involving removal of 1.5km of cables for replacement with power lines buried underground at Wearhead and Crawleyside Bank in Stanhope, the projects are being carried out by contractor Clancy Docwra on behalf of Northern Powergrid.
Having a combined value of £150,000, the schemes are entirely being funded by the electricity distributor.
North Pennines AONB director Chris Woodley Stewart said the work forms part of a national scheme to underground cables in AONBs and National Parks and also helps to keep the villages and wider countryside free from intrusive overhead wires.
"There’s more we’d like to do if the scheme continues and it can make a surprising difference to the landscape," Stewart added.
Northern Powergrid design engineer Paul Nicholson said, ”An added benefit of having cables underground is that they are less prone to faults caused by bad weather and high winds, often the case in remote and exposed areas, therefore improving the reliability of the local electricity supply.”
Work under both projects is anticipated to complete by the end of October 2013.
Northern Powergrid has undergrounded around 5km of cables in the North Pennines and under 30km in total in AONBs and National Parks, since 2010.
