Five firms to lead £450m renewal of electricity system – Daily Business

Five firms have been chosen to lead the £450 million transformation of Scotland’s electricity transmission network that will enable it to withstand the impact of more regular and violent storms. 

The investment will see Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks’s existing network of wooden poles and overhead lines renewed and reinforced, substations updated, and improvements made to the underground network.

OCU Utility Services, Clancy, Freedom Group, Macaulay Askernish and Brush Group (which includes KUS Power Engineering and McGowan Group) will lead the delivery of the upgrades. It will secure or creat 300 jobs.

The area covers rural communities, villages, towns, and cities, from Dundee and Aberdeen, to Argyll, the Highlands, and all of Scotland’s islands.

SSEN’s director of large capital delivery, Fraser Hood, said: “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 deliver effectively for our customers and communities.”