SSEN Transmission – the electricity transmission owner for the north of Scotland and part of the SSE Group – has announced the publication of a new Whole Energy System Strategy building on valuable feedback from key stakeholders.

The whole energy system comprises electricity, gas, heat and transport networks and components that serve GB society. Taking a whole system approach in SSEN Transmission's network design, future planning and project delivery allows for a broad look at all of these wider elements and systems of the energy industry to understand how they are related, and how they influence one another. This enables collaboration with relevant stakeholders to find innovative and efficient network solutions as they work to deliver a network for net zero.

SSEN Transmission's first Whole Energy System Strategy was published in 2019 as part of the stakeholder-led preparation of the firm's RIIO-T2 business plan, A Network for Net Zero. Since then, teams have been engaging with, and seeking feedback from, a wide range of stakeholders to update the strategy to deliver on whole system commitments during the RIIO-T2 price control period, which started in April 2022 running to May 2026. The new strategy, which was published today builds on the previous version, reviewing performance so far and sets targets to the end of the RIIO-T2 period and beyond.

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Andrew Urquhart, SSEN Transmission's Head of Whole System, said: "We're delighted to launch our new Whole Energy System Strategy which takes a wide look at all the elements and systems of the energy industry to make sure we are getting the best value for consumers from investment planning across the transmission network in the north of Scotland.

"We are a stakeholder-led business, and as such we've taken on board some extremely valuable feedback from our stakeholders following the launch of our previous strategy in 2019 and used this to update our Whole Energy System approach to how we develop and operate the transmission network across the north of Scotland. We have a better understanding as to how the whole energy system operates and is expected to change as we move towards a Net Zero future, which we have included in our updated strategy.

"Thanks to all those who have contributed, and we welcome any further thoughts on our new 2022 strategy which can be viewed through our new Whole System Hub on our website.

"As the operator of the transmission network in the north of Scotland, our strategic objective is to enable the transition to a low carbon economy to meet the UK and Scottish Government's net zero targets. It is a really exciting time for SSEN Transmission as we grow our network further to help meet these targets, as we work to deliver a network for net zero."