Uncoiling the snake: team leader Martin Lee is dwarfed by a giant cable drum as Scottish Hydro-Electric yesterday began laying a new 36km sub-sea cable from Orkney. A first power line was laid under the Pentland Firth in 1982. The new one from Caithness to Hoy and on to Scorra Dale on the Orkney mainland will double the volume of electricity that can be transmitted to 40 megawatts. The extra capacity will make Orkney less dependent on the standby generator in Kirkwall.