With an eye on the future, this investment programme's delivery of increases to network capacity will support the uptake in Low-Carbon Technologies like heat pumps and EVs, and help connect new homes, businesses and green electricity generation to the network.

As customers’ lifestyles and expectations continue to evolve at an ever-increasing pace, the LCD teams are playing a key part in meeting these demands, sitting alongside the hard work and round-the-clock response provided by SSEN’s well-established regional operations teams.

We caught up with Fraser Hood, Director of LCD, at one of his team’s projects in rural Moray, to learn more about where his part of the business sits in SSEN’s wider organisation, and to take a look at what we can expect to see at the turn of the decade – and beyond.

Our time in Moray took us to a site near Cullen, to see teams working on the Buckie Harbour project. This £8m, three-stage scheme, sees teams replacing 18km of wooden poles and upgrading overhead lines and transformers. This combination of assets and new technology ensures greater reliability, and the capability to transport higher loads. The project, which started last October, is now in its final phase and is scheduled to be completed by the end of July.

After donning our PPE and undergoing a full safety briefing, we got the chance to see firsthand how teams go about installing the replacement poles and hear how the work will benefit local homes and businesses.

Fraser takes up the story:
“We’re investing significant sums of money all over our network on essential upgrades, with everything designed to benefit local homes and businesses – not just now, but for many years to come.

“This particular project near Buckie will deliver tangible benefits for communities here. An increase in the reliability of supplies all-year-round will come from the new, stronger poles, while upgraded load capacity on the network will help the uptake in Low-Carbon Technologies such as EV chargers and heat pumps, as well as helping us meet the demand for new connections.”

 

The geographic diversity of SSEN's two licence areas is reflected in the local population density, which in turn mirrors the size of investment required to deliver best value. Across LCD’s planned works, this can range from projects like Buckie Harbour at £8m, to those in excess of £100m in the more heavily populated parts of the country.

Fraser expands on this:
“Everything we’re doing is rigorously planned to ensure we can deliver the best value for our customers. Today’s work in and around Buckie is at the smaller end of our range of projects, but it’ll still be transformative for this community. A massive network upgrade in Berkshire with an investment figure of over £150m will deliver similar change there. But no matter which project we’re talking about, the scrutiny over our planning and budgets is relentless, with customer value at the forefront at all times.”

The LCD business unit also incorporates SSEN’s specialist subsea cable team, which is responsible for maintaining the security of supply for over 60 Scottish islands and the Isle of Wight. Upgrades and replacement projects across this part of the LCD team will also be continuing for many years to come, an example of this being the Skye-Uist cable replacement, which has an investment figure of around £90m.

To learn more about SSEN’s LCD business unit and our site visit with Fraser Hood, click on the video above.