SP Energy Networks has unveiled 19 businesses as preferred partners to its record £5.4bn supply chain contract programme as it turbo-charges its electricity network investments.
The companies have been selected to help the network operator deliver the biggest rewiring of the GB electricity grid since its inception, to meet increasing demand and unlock growth.
SP Energy Networks’ parent company, ScottishPower, said it will create 1,000 new jobs and deliver tens of thousands more in the supply chain.
With electricity demand forecast to double, Britain’s grid needs a major upgrade to transport power around the country.
Seventeen of the 19 contractors chosen to work on the programme are headquartered in the UK and Ireland, demonstrating SP Energy Networks’ commitment to developing the country’s wider supply chain.
They include businesses like Keltbray Energy Limited, headquartered in Surrey, and recent winners of ScottishPower’s Supplier of the Year Award, who will deliver work across both overhead lines and substations; I&H Brown, the Scottish-based civil engineering firm and RJ McLeod, the Glasgow-based contractors who will help deliver new and upgraded substations.
The strategic partnership will run for an initial five years, with the option to extend up to 10, giving businesses the long-term confidence and security to in-turn invest in their own staff, equipment, technology and services over the period.
CEO of SP Energy Networks Nicola Connelly (pictured) said: “We’re delivering the biggest overhaul of the electricity grid ever seen to unlock growth and free up network capacity for new homes, businesses and clean energy projects.
“These strategic partnerships will give suppliers the confidence to invest in themselves, growing their workforce, opening new offices across the country and creating even greater opportunities for the UK.
“This is great news for the UK and Scottish supply chains, with every pound spent directly benefiting central southern Scotland and its infrastructure for decades to come.”
The agreement includes up to £3bn on new overhead lines and £2.4bn on new and upgraded substations, including design, engineering, construction, and electrical works.
The successful suppliers joined Connelly to sign SP Energy Networks’ Delivery Charter at an event at the company’s Glasgow HQ, which outlines the businesses commitment to delivering on green jobs and talent development, a positive impact on communities and a safe working environment.
SP Energy Networks, part of ScottishPower, owns and operates the transmission network for central and southern Scotland with more than 4,500km of overhead electricity lines, 600km of underground cables and over 150 substations to transport high-voltage power across the region.
It also operates undersea high-voltage cables and last week was given the go-ahead to progress with a new underwater superhighway off the east coast of Britain.