The Scottish & Southern Electricity Network (SSEN) have announced the partners in their investment programme worth £450m to improve the electricity network
The Scottish electricity distribution investment will be spread over nine sub-regions of the North of Scotland network licence area.
The investment will increase resistance to climate change, support low carbon technologies, and help to decarbonise industry.
Five companies are a part of the Scottish electricity distribution investment
OCU Utility Services Ltd, Clancy Ltd, Freedom Group Ltd, Macaulay Askernish Ltd, and the Brush Group are the five companies on the programme.
They will be leading work to upgrade, renew, and reinforce the network of overhead lines and the wooden poles supporting them, as well as work on substations and improving the underground network.
The work undertaken will affect the parts of the network that directly links to businesses and homes, and so upgrades must include full ability to link new or existing devices, such as solar panels, EV chargers, or heat pumps to the network.
The region that the nine areas covers is a largely rural area, with rural communities, villages, towns, and cities, with locations including Aberdeen, Dundee, Argyll, the Highlands, and all of the Scottish islands.
“We’re in the best possible position to deliver an electricity system which will support sustainable economic growth”
The Scottish Government’s acting cabinet secretary for net zero and energy, Gillian Martin MSP, said: “Decarbonising Scotland’s economy depends heavily on significant investment in the upkeep and futureproofing of our electricity system, so the network can meet the demand from users now and in the future.
“I welcome this substantial investment from SSEN Distribution in the north of Scotland, which will not only bring benefits for our workforce, our supply chains, and our regional and national economies but also support our net zero targets.”
SSEN’s director of large capital delivery, Fraser Hood, said: “We’re proud to have signed agreements which will deliver massive improvements to local electricity networks in the north of Scotland. The transformative investment we’re making means we’re in the best-possible position to deliver an electricity system which will support sustainable economic growth, benefit the environment in the decades to come, and create significant job opportunities during construction in communities across the north of Scotland.
“In selecting these five contract partners after a fair, open, and competitive tendering process, we’ve secured the ability to deliver our massive programme of investment efficiently and effectively. This transformation will ensure increased resilience, flexibility, and capacity for our 800,000 customers in the north of Scotland.
“The way these partnerships have been drawn up will mean we can reduce supply chain risks and secure the specialist skills we need to help deliver decarbonisation effectively for our customers and communities.”
Scotland has been in heavy discussion regarding decarbonisation and sustainability, with a recent announcement that homeowners and businesses will not be required to update their heating systems by 2045.
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