SSEN’s RIIO-T2 User Group powers up
Tracey Barlow, Independent Chair of SSEN’s RIIO-T2 User Group, shares her thoughts on progress and priorities following the first inaugural meeting.
Since my appointment as Chair of SSEN’s RIIO-T2 User Group in July, it’s been a busy few months. We’ve now established the User Group following a rigorous recruitment process and I’m confident we have a team that can play a key role in guiding and scrutinising the development and delivery of SSEN Transmission’s RIIO-T2 business plan.
Joining me on the User Group is a panel of seven experts who have a varied background in areas including non-traditional business models, innovation, fuel poverty, community energy and consumer research. We have a perfect mix of skills and experience to provide the right level of industry and consumer insight, whilst also providing independent challenge as SSEN prepares and engages on its business plan for the early 2020s.
We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, and we welcome the opportunity to input into what will be one of the most important strategic documents for SSEN Transmission’s future network. We are looking forward to learning more about SSEN’s Transmission business so we can provide an independent viewpoint on objectives and priorities, supporting SSEN’s focus to deliver a sustainable and reliable network for their customers at the most affordable cost.
Our first meeting was held in August, which focused on introducing panel members to the SSEN business – essentially what it does, what its ambitions are and what it hopes to deliver for the benefit of customers, consumers and wider stakeholders. It included a trip to see one of SSEN’s current construction projects at Tomatin substation, which was a fascinating experience and opened our eyes to the scale and engineering expertise that is required to ensure we can continue to keep the lights on well into the future. It was a really good example of the competing interests that regulatory business like SSEN face, and the fine balance that needs to be struck with supporting the transition to a low carbon economy in the most efficient way possible. Thank you again to the team at Tomatin for hosting the visit.
The RIIO-T2 User Group’s journey has well and truly begun and we will continue to provide regular updates on progress. The User Group will work on behalf of electricity consumers, customers and wider stakeholders to ensure SSEN submit a robust business plan that delivers a sustainable and efficient future network. If you would like to get involved in this process, you can share your views with the SSEN’s RIIO-T2 team – yourplanourfuture@sse.com
Further information on RIIO-T2 can be found on SSEN's website here: https://www.ssen-transmission.co.uk/information-centre/industry-and-regulation/riio-t2/