A newly-refurbished power station is about to be recommissioned.

Power firm Centrica says it has upgraded King's Lynn power station, on the Willows Business Park, as part of a £180m investment in a more flexible power system.

In a letter to North West NorfolK MP Sir Henry Bellingham, the firm writes: With construction finished, we're now ready to begin the commissioning phase and plan to start testing the newly installed gas turbine from next week.

'We anticipate that this final activity will see the station return to full operation in the coming months at which point the plant will be capable of producing enough power to meet the needs of around 370,000 households, almost all the homes in Norfolk.

'This is primarily to provide fast back up to the well-developed renewables supplies in Norfolk, enabling secure expansion of renewable energy with the intermittency covered.'

Centrica says while it will do its best to minimise disruption, some tests may cause noise.

'We'll also make our neighbours aware that they may see some smoke and water vapour clouds during the testing phase,' it said.

'This is caused by the burning off of wax which coats some of the machinery during construction and steam flushing of the pipe work to ensure it is clear, which does create more noise than normal operation and will cease once the tests are finished.

'While the smoke is not harmful, we do recognise that some people might notice it from a site that has been dormant for some time.' Centrica says millions have been spent with local businesses during the construction period.

It adds: 'This has been an amazing construction project for

all those involved and is good news for King's Lynn and West Norfolk as it will underpin more than 30 permanent jobs at the site.'

The plant has a planned life span of 15 years. Next door, there are plans for a new and larger power station.

EPUKI has been given permission for a new gas-powered plant which will generate enough power to supply 2m homes.

The firm says it will create 600 construction jobs during the building phase, which is expected to start in 2020 and 40 permanent positions.