A £60m project at Didcot power station to boost capacity enough to power an extra 160,000 homes has been completed.

The year-long project at the gas-fired Didcot B plant will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The major upgrade to the station, which along with the neighbouring Didcot A site employs about 350 people and is run by RWE npower, is expected to result in a reduction of about four per cent in the amount of carbon dioxide emitted.

The gas-fired station replaced two of its four turbines with the latest version available.

Richard Llewellyn, Didcot B’s station manager, said: “By installing the most up-to-date technology, we are now in the best possible position to provide reliable power generation into the future.

“This work is the culmination of four years of preparation, it was a complex project and it has been completed within the planned timescale and within budget.”

The installation and commissioning of the new gas turbines was completed while the other two gas turbines remained in full service.

Together, the two power stations are capable of producing enough electricity to meet the needs of more than three million people.