SSE has announced that the Atholl Centre in Pitlochry is to become an emergency connection point in the event of an emergency.

The decision comes after severe storms in the Pitlochry and Blair Atholl areas in December 2012 affected the electricity supply.

SSEPD have since been working alongside the local authority, Perth and Kinross Council, to identify ways in which recovery could be improved, should severe weather affect supply again in the future.

As a result, the utility provider has created a generation connection point at the Atholl Centre, in addition to investing in the existing networks and technology. The connection point would allow SSEPD, in the event of an emergency, to connect a generator and allow the facility to act as a 'command centre' for the local area.

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In a statement, Mark Macdonald, SSEPD, commented: "Using the Atholl Centre as a strategic point in event of emergencies was actually suggested by the local community. We've been working closely with the community council, Perth and Kinross Council as well as the local resilience partnership and other stakeholders to look at ways of minimising disruption in the event of a major incident.

"The generator connection point will allow us to connect generation so providing power for emergency services who would be tasked with coordinating responses to emergency situations. We're extremely grateful to everyone who worked so hard to bring this project together."

(JP/CD)