SSEN Distribution has appointed Aureos Energy Ltd, IES Utilities Group, Ipsum Group and Network Distribution Services Ltd (NDS) as framework partners to deliver a multi-year renewal and reinforcement of its overhead electricity network in the north of Scotland, following a competitive and transparent tender.

The company's overland power lines, largely carried on wooden poles, are vital for transporting electricity across long distances to rural and island communities. With electricity demand rising as homes and businesses switch to low-carbon heating and transport, and with more frequent severe storms, SSEN says strengthening and future-proofing the network is essential.

The programme will expand capacity to help customers seeking new connections or additional power, while reinforcing infrastructure so it can better withstand extreme weather, all while keeping the lines' visual impact to a minimum.

Under the framework, the four contractors will deliver distinct work packages across multiple geographies:

• Aureos Energy Ltd renews its partnership after five years delivering in the Highlands, Skye, the Western Isles and Orkney, and will now also cover Shetland.

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• IES Utilities Group, which has supported SSEN during past storms, will focus on strengthening and resilience works in the North East, including Aberdeenshire and most of Moray.

• Ipsum Group, experienced in overhead line projects across remote and weather-affected areas and active in SSEN's central southern England area, will deliver works in the Inner Hebrides, Argyll, Kintyre and Arran.

• Network Distribution Services Ltd (NDS), a family-run Perth firm and former sub-contractor to SSEN in the north, has been directly awarded a framework for the first time and will cover Perthshire, Stirling, Dundee and Angus. The award underpins NDS's plans to invest for long-term growth and develop local talent.

The initial five-year agreements include the option of a further three-year extension, providing partners with the certainty to invest in people and equipment. SSEN says this will support domestic skills and supply chains at a time when the UK's clean power sector is expanding and displacing fossil fuels.

James Flanagan, SSEN Distribution's Director of Procurement, said: "After a rigorous process, we're delighted to have secured the involvement of these four framework partners. During tendering, they demonstrated their ability to deliver to our exacting expectations operationally, for customers, and for the environment.

"These awards mean our partners, who are important employers and providers of skills in the communities where they operate, will have the confidence to grow, and develop their own people.

"Energy bills are a concern for families and businesses, so it's incumbent on network operators like us to ensure we invest wisely so that local grids operate more reliably and efficiently than ever before. Together with our new framework partners, we'll work very hard over the years of these agreements to meet customers' expectations of us.

"We'll work constructively with communities, and keep them well informed of when essential works may have a temporary impact on their day-to-day routines while these long-term beneficial upgrades are delivered."