ScottishPower's £24 billion investment programme is supporting around 1,000 new jobs each year, with more than half of its workforce based in Scotland. The company has also welcomed its largest-ever intake of apprentices, trainees and graduates, with more than 300 young people starting this month.

The benefits are being felt across the wider economy. ScottishPower spends around £3.8 billion annually with approximately 3,000 supply-chain companies, supporting more than 80,000 jobs indirectly. Since 2023, £2.7 billion has been spent with Scottish businesses, helping firms invest, expand and create new employment opportunities.

The company has launched the Our Future, Built Here campaign to spotlight suppliers at the heart of communities across the UK.

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Businesses including Luddon Construction, Kirby Group, Hitachi Energy and RES are expanding and recruiting on the back of ScottishPower contract wins, creating skilled roles and investing locally. The First Minister and others heard how the major grid rewiring programme is delivering tangible benefits for those companies and their people.

Keith Anderson, ScottishPower CEO, said: "Growth becomes real when local businesses win contracts, when apprentices are recruited, when wages rise and when communities see a future worth investing in.

"The energy transition is showing what can be achieved when long-term ambition is matched with investment, certainty and partnership between industry and government."

He added that continued investment in renewable energy, electricity networks and energy security will help strengthen regional economies while reducing reliance on international gas markets.

The event brought together political leaders, industry representatives and businesses to discuss how Scotland can build on successful growth stories and create prosperity across the country.

Examples highlighted included Luddon Construction — which started as a small civil engineering business operating from a van and now holds around £40 million of ScottishPower contracts while employing hundreds of people — and Kirby Group, which has opened two Scottish offices and moved to larger premises in Glasgow to accommodate new recruits delivering grid rewiring.